


Away From the Castle Walls

by Twiceaday99



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Drama, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, actually have more ships than mitzu but i dont wanna spoil anything lol, rated for language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-05-21 23:13:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14924666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twiceaday99/pseuds/Twiceaday99
Summary: Myoui Mina, a kind princess who has powers she's yet to discover more of, and Chou Tzuyu, a commoner who has mastered the fine arts of swordsmanship and archery throughout her childhood. Both are very different yet very similar. But the question is, when they are forced to cooperate to survive, will they be able to work together?





	1. Careful What You Wish For

"Your father is waiting for you to join him outside."

Swords clanking could be heard from where Mina was. She sighed, tightening the belt around her waist that kept her dress together. "I know mother, I'm on my way."

Mina held her hands out and as if a force was obeying her, the metal door in front of her opened with a loud screech.

A harsh voice made her flinch, "Mina! What have I told you about using your... gift?"

Mina groaned, looking at her mother from the corner of her eye like any other day and raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed to hear the same scolding over and over again, "That I shouldn't use it unless it is absolutely necessary? Mother, I can barely do anything with it anyway."

Her mother didn't look pleased by her attitude as she walked and stopped right in front of her. She placed a shining little crown on Mina's head. "Do me a favor dear, and erase that expression on your face. People outside are waiting to see a princess–"

Not wanting to hear any more of her mother's speech, she cut her off, smiling sweetly, "And a princess they shall see." She bowed slightly while holding her dress before she gracefully walked out of the room, her shoulders square and her steps confident as always.

Mina didn't like tournaments. To her, it was just men murdering each other to get a prize. It was cruel. It wasn't chivalrous like her father would say and it certainly didn't have any sense of nobility. And the fact that she was forced to watch it next to her father was just pure torture for her. It wasn't like she had much to do anyway, but there were other ways to entertain herself than watching this useless so called game. Like books. Mina liked books. They were fun.

"Ah, my dear Mina, how nice of you to finally grace us with your presence." Her father got up from the throne he was sitting on, pulling Mina in a hug that only lasted for merely a second. Mina didn't say anything in return and sat on the other throne right next to her father's big one. The king sat on his own throne once again, reaching out for his cup of wine with gloved hands, "Now now, don't give me that face. I know you don't fancy this sort of entertainment, but one day, when you become queen, people will be expecting the same sorts of things from you. Tournaments are a must-have in every kingdom."

"Yes, father. I understand."

He cleared his throat at the dry reply. "This tournament is a little different. There shall be none fighting 'till death." Mina breathed a sigh of relief at that. "We also have contestants from other kingdoms. I'm sure we'll be seeing unique skills of swordsmanship from these fine gentlemen."

The princess looked down from the balcony to the arena, observing the men practicing with their swords - their armor looked heavy and they had their family crests plastered on their chests. Mina noticed that some of them didn't, which led her to think that not only nobles but also commoners were competing. It warmed her heart a little, knowing that they accepted entries from everyone, no matter the social status.

Before she knew it, the tournament had started, and Mina kept her posture straight during the rounds while her father leaned in sometimes in enthusiasm. The sound of people cheering and yelling never ended, keeping the excitement at its top. Mina felt some of the swordsmen looking at her and she almost gagged, noticing the lust in their eyes. Another reason Mina hated tournaments; aside from the money prize, the champion would also get the chance to accompany her at the feast.

Oh how Mina wished she had the right to object.

"A cheer for the brave swordsmen, ladies and lords, for they shall cross swords! On our left is the handsome noble hero of the north, breaker of hearts, Sir Yvon!" A loud round of applause accompanied Sir Yvon as he walked into the arena in full armor- except for his helmet to show off his handsome face. He bowed to the audience first before turning to the king and the princess, bowing to them even more deeply. His light blue eyes locked with Mina's before he smiled with his white teeth. He winked, and Mina frowned at how disturbing his gestures were. Sir Yvon put his helmet on after he was done catching the audience's favor and attention.

"And on our right is the mysterious agile swordsman from the Kingdom of Tawenia who beat everyone in front of him in mere seconds!" Another round of applause - though not as loud as before - broke off as the unnamed man walked into the arena with only his sword in hand. Unlike Sir Yvon who put on his helmet after showing off, the stranger already had his helmet on and didn't bother bowing or doing any sort of gesture to please the audience. He got into a fighting stance and waited for a sign to start.

Sir Yvon didn't waste any more time to do the same as he adjusted his shield and sword.

When the fight finally started, the mysterious man moved in incredible speed and struck Sir Yvon with the tilt of his sword. Sir Yvon fell on the ground in pain before he forced himself to get up. In anger, he rashfully jumped forward, swinging his sword strongly. The mysterious swordsman easily blocked the strike with his own sword since he didn't have a shield. Sir Yvon saw this as an opportunity to hit him with his shield while he kept his opponents sword occupied, but the mysterious man predicted his moves and ducked just in time to avoid the attack, kicking the side of the noble man's legs which made him fall with a thud, the metal armor clanking as it hit the ground with its wearer. Before Sir Yvon could get up again, the mysterious man pushed him down with the tip of his sword.

"AND THERE WE HAVE IT, FOLKS! The mysterious swordsman once again prevails and yet another great warrior falls at the hands of 'im!" The crowd erupted in cheers and the nameless swordsman walked away without a word as he put away his sword back in its sheath. Mina's eyes followed him curiously and as the man turned to look at the arena, his eyes - that could be seen through the slit of his helmet - met Mina's for a second before he looked away and got into his tent. Mina looked away as well, losing interest quickly as it came.

For many hours the tournament went on, some victorious and some had fallen. With a cup of fine red wine in her hand, Mina tried to keep her eyes open. As the princess, she had her duties and this was one of them. Her people's happiness was the priority, thus she kindly smiled most of the time and her radiant natural beauty blinded others.

When it was finally the time for the final round, no one was surprised to see the mysterious man appear once again. Mina would be lying if she said she wasn't impressed by his skills; the man wasn't as built as others but somehow was stronger and smarter than the rest. Not to mention he wasn't wearing heavy armor like the others; his body was covered with light armor made of leather and he had a black cloak that covered his body unless he moved. Never did Mina see this man's face, and she didn't really care to be honest.

Mina sipped on her drink, she was relieved that the tournament was finally reaching to an end. She watched as the finalists fought for the prize, the unknown man and a knight named Sir Chulsoon who had been the champion for the last two years. The man was rich and hardly ever needed the prize, but Mina wasn't dumb enough to assume that mere coins were his motivation. She had rejected his offers of basically anything before, but the man never knew when to give up. So now, Mina found herself silently cheering for the mysterious man to get rid herself of another awkward, long night of fleeing from Sir Chulsoon.

It didn't take long for the man in leather armor to finish off Sir Chulsoon with a final blow, much to Mina and the crowd's delight. As soon as the fight was finished, the crowd went wild from the epic battle and they clapped in pure joy at the sight of the new man who now held the title of 'champion'.

"I, too, applaud your impressive skills, young man. Never in my life did I think I'd see Sir Chulsoon lose that quickly to a commoner." Mina heard her father say while getting up. "What's your name?"

And for the first time, Mina heard the mysterious man speak. _He has a rather strange voice_ , Mina noted. "Forgive me, your majesty but I would prefer for you to remember me from the skills I have rather than my poor name."

The king looked down from the balcony directly into the man's eyes with a sturdy gaze and said, "Very well. Nevertheless, you shall attend the feast tonight and escort my daughter as her rightful champion."

"May I refuse?" Gasps filled the arena and Mina almost laughed. Almost. Almost before she realized that a mere commoner, outright rejected her in front of her own people.

Yeah, she didn't laugh.

The king was baffled for a few seconds - no one had ever refused to escort Mina before. He was annoyed that her one and only daughter, heiress to the throne was being humiliated in front of many people so he frowned, his anger was shown in his voice, "For generations, the champion always escorted the princess. And I do not have any intention to break the cycle."

Mina could almost hear the so called 'champion' groaning but nonetheless, he bowed towards the king. "I meant no disrespect, your majesty. It's just that I'm sort of in a hurry-"

"Surely you can stay one night."

The king had the look that no one sane was courageous enough to refuse, so the champion unwillingly agreed, "Yes, your majesty."

\---

A pleasing melody was being played with the lutes by the two bards, people were speaking loudly and some laughter here and there could be heard between joyful conversations as the food got colder each second. Some maids were running around, refilling the empty ale and wine bottles and worrying over the mess for it was huge. The ambiance at the great hall couldn't be better.

Meanwhile Mina was waiting for her 'champion'. Her glamorous red dress was rather a bit too tight on her, but she had gotten used to it over time. 

Mina didn't care for social gatherings such as this either. To her, it all just seemed like fake smiles and insincere conversations that people conjured up for their own selfish desires. And Mina really hated to pretend. Honesty was the best policy. And in events like these, sincere and honest people were quite hard to find.

"Your highness, we've been informed that the champion will be accompanying you soon." A servant told her, bowing his head slightly while doing so.

"Some champion he is." Mina scoffed in annoyance.

Not liking all the attention she was receiving in the middle of the hall, Mina went near a window and opened it, inhaling the fresh air instead of the smell of alcohol that invaded everywhere. Taking a piece of a divine looking apple pie with her fingers, she threw it in her mouth and licked her fingers before anyone could see her do so - especially her mother who would scold her to death about manners.

"Where's the champion?"

Jumping a little at feeling caught on act, she turned to face the king. "Oh father, I'm afraid he hasn't arrived yet."

The king clasped his hands behind him, sticking out his chest with pride as he spoke, "What nonsense." He then put his hand on his daughter's shoulder supportively, as if comforting her, "Mina, just go and get announced. You will not wait for this pitiful excuse for a man any longer than you already have. Shame, I had taken a liking to him."

"As you wish, your majesty." Mina smiled contentedly before she walked towards the entrance elegantly. 

Just as she was about to get called out by the announcer, an arm slipped through her own and Mina turned her head in surprise, seeing a beautiful young woman with her hair loosely tied up in a single ponytail, panting – _probably ran her way here_ , Mina thought – dressed in leather armor. She stared a bit longer than necessary before she got called out:

"Are you just going to keep staring? Yes, I'm a girl. Get over it, princess." 

Mina's brows met in confusion and she was getting annoyed by the behavior of the woman she never met before. "And who are you?" She asked sternly with the authority of a princess, her voice clearly showing how she felt.

The woman rolled her eyes, "And here I was thinking you were smart." She sighed wholeheartedly when she didn't get any response from Mina except for confused cold stares. "Well, clearly, I was wrong." The woman frowned to herself and muttered, "Huh, that's a first."

A sudden realization dawned upon Mina after a few seconds and she gasped, "Are you-"

"-the champion who beat every single swordsman only to go through this torture. Yep, that's me. Very well done figuring that out, princess. Now, can we please get this over with?"

"H-hold on-" But before Mina could stop it, the announcer blindly shouted out after the champion leaned in to whisper their names:

"Honorable guests, Princess Mina of Cardenion and her champion!"

With their arms linked, they started walking down the hall and unsurprisingly caught many people's attention; even the bards dramatically stopped playing their lute for a while, staring confused at them like the other guests. Mina who was still in shock managed to force out a smile and from the corner of her eye, she could see her 'champion' doing her best to smile as well.

It didn't last long though for her father walked towards them. "And who are you?" The king demanded to know, not really welcoming.

"Here we go again..." the woman muttered under her breath before she cleared her throat to speak. "I'm the one who won the tournament, your majesty."

"Lend me your sword."

Without a word, the woman obeyed the king as she swiftly took out her sword and presented it to the king with both hands while bowing her head in respect.

Mina's father examined the sword closely. And with further observation of the young woman, the king was convinced enough to ask, "For what reason did you hide your...identity?" 

Taking her sword from the king's hands and putting it in back into its sheathe, she answered."I did not want to cause trouble because of my sex, your majesty. As you may very well know, many kingdoms, including my own, aren't too fond of women entering tournaments."

People were whispering and Mina found herself admiring the women's bravery.

"I understand your concern, however, I also despise being lied to." The king clasped his hands behind him again. "For this once, I shall make an exception because of the beautiful swordsmanship you have shown us today. You will enjoy the feast tonight but will be gone from my castle after the next sunrise." The king didn't look at them again after he turned his back and walked away, his mood clearly ruined by the unexpected turn of events.

People started gossiping right away and the woman sighed, "I swear to the heavens, this is the last time I'm entering a tournament. One bag of gold definitely isn't worth this torture."

Mina let go of the woman's arm and lifted an eyebrow, "Torture?"

"Yes, princess. I could've been surrounded by beautiful women in a warm tavern while sipping my wine instead of being stuck in a castle hall with people glaring at me like I just stole their favorite candy." She breathed out and stopped for a few seconds. "Erm...no offense."

The princess gave no reaction and merely looked away, annoyed by the woman's attitude.

The bards started playing again, this time a different song, more mellow and slow – some couples started dancing in the middle of the hall, swaying along with the calm music slowly. 

Mina faked a laugh when she saw a hand extended to her, "Seriously?"

The champion shrugged, "Why not? Since I'm stuck here for the night, might as well make the best of it." She grinned charmingly and winked, waiting for Mina to take her hand. "Milady."

"You can go 'make the best of it' somewhere else." Mina was ready to walk away as she held her long dress slightly up, but the taller woman was faster and blocked her way, stubbornly holding her hand out one more time. "I don't think your father would fancy that, princess." As if they were having a staring contest, both of them stood still, just looking into each other's eyes. 

A triumphant smile found its way on the champion's face when Mina held her hand not before rolling her eyes. They both moved in the middle to dance alongside the other couples and stole the spotlight with ease. Mina held onto her so-called-champion's shoulders and felt gentle hands on her waist. They danced in silence. Their eyes met sometimes, but most of the time Mina was looking away while her partner openly stared at her. Just then Mina realized that she didn't know this woman's name so she asked in pure curiosity, cracking the awkward atmosphere, "What's your name?" 

"Awww. I'm honored that you wanna know more about me, princess," There it was again, the stupid grin Mina was starting to hate, "but then again, who doesn't?" 

Mina resisted the urge to slam the woman in front of her into a wall with her powers for the nth time that day –although she didn't know if she was strong enough to do that, she hadn't ever tried it before– and merely looked away, cursing herself for giving into her curiosity in the first place. Then she heard a chuckle.

"Tzuyu. Chou Tzuyu from Tawenia, pleased to make your acquaintance, your highness."

Mina was used to hearing herself adressed as 'princess' or 'your highness' but somehow when it came out of Tzuyu's mouth, it felt like an insult – as if she had been called something vulgar. However she made no comment on it and decided to keep quiet, acting as if she hadn't even heard the woman, Chou Tzuyu.

As they glided across the floor, Mina realized that she had never danced with a woman before. But as much as she hated to admit, Tzuyu was good enough for her to think that it was not much different from dancing with a man. So she let herself go with the beautiful music. She liked dancing, anyways.

When the song ended, both of them backed away and bowed towards each other in courtesy.

Mina, being glad that the dance was over, left without a word, and Tzuyu made no move to stop her which she was grateful for. 

***

Mina stopped counting how many hours she had been just standing in the hall, occasionally talking with some guests to keep the relations between kingdoms favorable.

"You're twenty-one now, aren't you?" asked one of the noble women, slightly plump.

Mina kindly nodded her head, smiling.

"I had just gotten married when I was your age." Stated the woman, empathy in her eyes. "I didn't have a choice however, for my parents forced me to."

Mina nodded again, getting a little uncomfortable with how the conversation was going.

"Oh please, you begged to get married to him!" Argued another woman – whom Mina assumed to be the sibling of the other.

"Oh shush, I did no such thing." Was the plump woman's reply. Mina watched as the siblings fought over who was right for twenty minutes, and she felt relief washing over her with the knowledge that these guests were only staying at the castle temporarily.

Taking advantage of the heated conversation, Mina sneaked away and sighed, the wine in her hand no longer appealing. She looked around, trying to find something interesting for her bored self to enjoy.

She did see something interesting, however, whether it was enjoyable to watch was up to debate. Tzuyu, her supposedly champion, was talking to two beautiful ladies, with a wine glass in her hand– half empty Mina guessed. It was pretty obvious that what Tzuyu wanted from the women in front of her was more than just laughs, considering her flirty expressions. Mina rolled her eyes when Tzuyu oh-so-kindly filled one of the ladies' empty glass, flashing a charming smile that showed her single dimple.

Losing her interest, Mina made her way over to the balcony's doors and slightly opened them– just enough for her to fit through. When she saw that no one was there, she let out a sigh of relief, cursing herself for not escaping the hall any sooner. She shivered as the wind gently caressed her, her dress not really helping her to keep warm. She put her elbows on the cold railing, listening to the faint music from the hall that managed to reach her ears.

Mina had always liked the night air, you see, it reminded her of many things– the good and the bad. Her life wasn't the most exciting one Mina realized, she hadn't gotten outside of the castle in so long. The thought of being stuck behind walls for the rest of her life, scared her. She was unhappy. She had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but being the only heir to the throne brought her responsibilities that tied her to the castle for as long as she could remember.

A shooting star interrupted her thoughts, and she immediately clasped her hands. Closing her eyes, she desperately wished for things to change.

"You don't look the type to believe in that sort of stuff."

Mina turned her head towards the voice and she held back a groan once she saw who it was. "What do you want?"

Tzuyu stopped next to Mina and leaned her back on the railing as she answered with a slight smile. "Nothing."

The night wind continued to gently blow as they stayed in silence but of course Tzuyu had to break it once again, "You know, you should relax a little. From what I've seen, you've been tense all evening."

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm just fine." Mina replied with venom in her voice but regretted it right after. Her kind side won over and she sighed after a few seconds, composing herself. After all, Tzuyu didn't seem like she was trying to be mean. She swallowed her pride. "I... apologize. I guess I have been a little on edge."

"You don't have to be so formal with me, you know? It's just me, a commoner. Not a noble. And you don't have to apologize either, I also haven't exactly been the kindest." Tzuyu smiled, adjusting the belt that held her leather armor.

"Take my advice, princess, not everyone deserves your nice words or selfless acts. Your kindness can be your downfall, or your salvation. It depends on you. "

Mina started feeling weird after that. Her head started to spin and she felt her legs go numb. And with her blurry vision, the last thing she saw was Tzuyu getting closer.

* * *

 

When Mina came to consciousness and slowly opened her eyes, she immediately took in her unfamiliar surroundings. As she did so, she realized that she couldn't move her arms, or legs for the matter. Her range of motion was limited to minimum and that was when Mina started to panic. She opened her mouth to call for help, but stopped when she saw a familiar face staring at her curiously. Anger surged through her veins and she yelled, "You!"

"Me?"

Mina squirmed to get rid of the rope around her wrists. "How dare you kidnap me?! Untie me this instant, you barbaric, uncivilized, ugly giant–"

"First of all, why the _fuck_ would I kidnap a spoiled princess? Secondly, maybe If you get your big smart head outta your fucking arse, you can see that I'm also tied up." Tzuyu snapped, annoyed by the insults she didn't deserve.

Mina observed Tzuyu, who was sitting right next to her on the wooden floor. As the taller woman said, Mina saw the ropes around Tzuyu's wrists and ankles, much like her.

Normally she would have apologized for her mistake and taken back her insults but now was not the time to be polite. Myoui Mina, the one and only heiress to the throne of the strongest kingdom known, Cardenion, was kidnapped.

Oh boy.

Mina's father was probably– definitely, throwing plates and whatever he could find at the guards at the moment.

Shaking that thought out of her head, Mina quietly looked around for anything that could help her current situation. There wasn't much in the room; a single stool stood at the corner and there was a small window on the wall that daylight barely seemed to seep through.

Daylight.

So it had been a day since she'd been kidnapped? Or maybe it's been more... How long was she out? She couldn't be sure. She couldn't see clearly out of the dirty window either, so she turned her attention elsewhere.

"Stop looking around, will ya? There's nothing in this room that can get us out." Tzuyu said with a straight face, glaring at the wall across her.

Mina raised an eyebrow and asked calmly, "What do we do then?"

Tzuyu turned her head and looked at Mina dead in the eye. For some reason, Tzuyu looked _very_ pissed and Mina couldn't help but be glad that the taller woman was also tied up. "Look, _princess_ ," Tzuyu said emphasizing the last word and Mina predicted she was running out of patience, "I don't even have a fucking clue why these bastards took me. I've been stuck in this fucking room for 2 days for no goddamn reason with no food or water, and I swear t–"

Just then the door opened and Tzuyu stopped talking, only to get on her feet with great effort. She started yelling the moment a woman entered the room with two armored men. "You better fucking tell me where all my money is, or I'll break your bones one by one–"

The woman simply ignored her words, and slightly pushed Tzuyu with her hand. Having her ankles tied up, Tzuyu easily lost her balance and fell down next to Mina. The woman let out a little chuckle, and smirked smugly. "I don't think you can actually do that right now."

Tzuyu continued to glare.

The woman mockingly placed her hand on top of her chest, right where her heart was and spoke with a dramatic expression. "Aww, don't look at me like that, it breaks my heart." She chuckled, breaking out of her act. "Looks like your princess is finally awake, pretty guardian–"

"I am _not_ her guard. How many fucking times do I need to tell you for your little brain to understand?!"

Mina squinted to look at the woman in black leather clothes and long black hair. Their eyes met and Mina kept her head up, her eyes strong and confident against the cold and soulless eyes of the other.

The woman let out a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and mockingly bowed towards her, "Im Nayeon, at your service." She straightened her back before crouching down in front of Mina. Nayeon took a strand of Mina's hair with her black gloved fingers and leaned in close. "For you to wake this late... I guess the dose of the poison was too strong for your little...delicate body. I am _so_ sorry for that, your highness." She said and although Nayeon's voice sent chills down her spine, Mina kept her gaze strong, and didn't break the eye contact like the other expected her to.

Nayeon finally got up and walked away a few steps with her back on the captives, the tense atmosphere turned into one of deep confusion– at least on Mina's part. "I see that father raised you well." Another cold chuckle filled the room. "Well, at least he treated one of her daughter's right."

Mina shivered because of her ruined dress that barely covered her body as her brows met in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"She's your sister, you dumbarse. Use your brain." Tzuyu deadpanned.

With her eyes slightly wide and mouth half open, Mina could only stare at Nayeon.

"Shocking, I know." Nayeon said monotonously, obviously enjoying her half-sister's horrified reactions. "Seems like daddy isn't perfect like you thought, huh?"

Mina composed herself, once again reminding herself that this was her _kidnapper_ talking. Nor she nor her words could be trusted. "The _king_ of this kingdom is honorable. He would not do something so reckless out of mere desires. Stop trying to decieve me." 

"Oh but I'm not. He left my mother alone out in a forest once he was done with her, not even glancing back once. I'm pretty sure that's not the description of 'honorable'." Nayeon straight-facedly said, and Mina felt her heart hurt at the confession. Although she wasn't sure if the woman in front of her was telling the truth, being the soft-hearted Mina that she was, tears blurred her vision at the thought of a woman abandoned after being used like a simple tool, and pregnant on top of it all. Not to mention the said man who did all this was her father. Mina shook her head in denial. "You're lying."

Nayeon chuckled dryly again and both Tzuyu and Mina realized that it was Nayeon's weird habit. Her chuckles or giggles weren't joyous, rather it made goosebumps appear on people's skin. They were rather forced, like one does to convince other people they were fine. Disturbing.

"You still don't believe me?" Nayeon took her ring off and crouched once more in front of Mina. "You see this? My late mother managed to grab this off the man you call a father." She turned the ring with her fingers, showing Mina the front of it, "Oh look, the seal has your father's name." 

Nayeon smirked and stood up as Mina took in a sharp breath, obviously surprised to see such a valuable possession of her father's in this woman's hands. The Royal Family's seals were very valuable as they were used for contracts and pretty much everything else that needed to be approved by the King or Queen. She had seen her mother wear the ring's exact replica with her own name on it, and she also remembered not seeing one on her father's fingers.

"Well, it was nice to finally talk to you little sis, but I'm afraid I must take my leave. Be a good girl and don't cause trouble, okay?" Nayeon paused just before exiting the room, and continued her words with a much colder voice. "Because I really... **really** don't like it when someone causes a mess." And with that she left the room, the wooden floor creaking under her black leather boots.

The two guards also turned towards the door, ready to find their way out. But a voice demanded otherwise through gritted teeth, "Hey potato-head, tell me where my money is!"

One of the guards sighed and stared at Tzuyu with a cocky smile, annoying the crap out of her by doing so. "It's so amusing how you assume we still have it."

"Then what the fuck did you–"

"Look," the tall male guard said, "it was a fortune. It would've been a shame if we hadn't used it up. I mean, come on woman, what the hell were you even waiting for to waste that much sum?"

Tzuyu's eyes widened, and for the first time Mina saw some other emotion pass by her face other than smugness or anger– it surprised her a little bit.

"Y-You spent...all of it?" Tzuyu's voice wavered uncharacteristically as she let out her words, and the guard laughed his heart out at her tiny response, ridiculing her. "Hey, Chaeyoung, look at her trembling. She really must love coins more than her own life!" The man let out another loud laugh and his unpleasant voice echoed inside the empty room.

"R-Right," Chaeyoung –who had a rather small structure to be a guard– stuttered and forced a chuckle, avoiding the eyes of every other being in the room. Mina noticed that the daylight seemed to be fading.

"No," Tzuyu shook her head, "If you lost even a single coin–"

"I don't think you get what I'm saying, lass." The man frowned and his black fierce brows met as he spoke, "I spent it _all._ Lost some to a merchant because of a bet, and bought myself a pretty nice armor, food that will last me for years and I finally completed my cards collection." His face relaxed, feeling confident because of the amount of change he made in Tzuyu's expressions. Trembling and with wide eyes, Tzuyu only listened as the man continued talking while smiling wickedly. "Guess I must thank ya for it all but I won't. You probably stole all that gold anyway."

Even when the guards left, Tzuyu stayed frozen. After a few seconds of just staring at the shut wooden door, Tzuyu looked down- she looked miserable, as if she had lost her everything in a matter of seconds. She leaned against the wall and turned her back on Mina, giving herself the needed privacy. Mina just watched and examined her actions, feeling bad for dragging someone into this mess because of herself. Wanting to console her, Mina mustered up enough courage to speak in the most gentle voice she ever could, "I'm sorry."

"Shut it."

"If you get me to the Royal Castle, I'll give you thrice the amount you had, plus your tournament reward." Mina offered suddenly, even though she didn't know how much money Tzuyu had.

A chuckle so dry filled the small room in the gloomy atmosphere as Tzuyu disagreed dejectedly, "It doesn't matter anymore. I'll never make it in a week now." Her voice seemed hopeless, almost as if she was on the verge of crying. "We can't even get outta here. And God knows what that freak sister of yours has planned for us tomorrow."

Not knowing what to say against the woman's response, Mina stayed quiet. She felt nausea take over her and as if she had been punched in the gut, her stomach flipped with ugly emotions.

There wasn't light coming out of the blurry window anymore and Mina found her eyes closing on their own after a while.

* * *

 

The sounds were becoming too unbearable to ignore.

Mina was a princess. Sleeping on the wooden surface was something she never did, let alone with her hands and feet tied. She was a woman of luxury.

Elegant. Rich. Those adjectives were what her people used to describe her. But now, here she was, her once clean and silky hair sprawled across the floor, her hands and feet tied as she tried to force herself to get more sleep, not wanting to think about what her supposed half-sister planned for her the day after. She couldn't get a shut-eye anymore however, and she blamed it on the loud crickets chirping and the wolfs howling outside.

And maybe the cold.

The window was still half open and the cold night air seeped into the room from the small gap, making Mina shiver every now and then, cursing the people who caused for her dress to tear apart. Maybe Nayeon did it on purpose so that she would feel cold. Either way, what bothered Mina _the_ _most_ right now certainly wasn't the cold. Nor the sounds of wolfs and the crickets. Nor the uncomfortable wooden surface she was currently lying on, pretending to be asleep. What bothered her _the_   _most_  was that one of the guards had snuck into their room and was now walking towards Tzuyu with a blood-red dagger in her hand. Mina's heart raced and she wanted to warn Tzuyu- to scream and to wake her up, but what could Tzuyu even do with her ankles and wrists tied? No, Mina couldn't just let the other die without doing anything. Tzuyu had already lost a great amount because of Mina and the princess was determined not to let her lose something even more precious: her life. 

So, Mina kicked with all her might. She kicked Tzuyu's butt with every muscle in her legs, hoping to wake her up. She was successful for Tzuyu woke up immediately and jumped defensively. Seeing that the captive was now awake, the small guard sat on Tzuyu's lap, keeping her immobile with his thighs. And with incredible speed, he clasped his hand over Tzuyu's mouth to muffle anything that came out of her mouth. Tzuyu struggled under the guard's hold but the guard had already lifted his dagger– it was too late.

The rope around Tzuyu's wrists was cut in half.

Tzuyu stared at the guard in white plate armor in disbelief and shock. The guard still had his hand clasped over her mouth as he whispered, "I'm getting you guys out. But you have to keep quiet." Tzuyu's brows met in confusion as the guard – whom Tzuyu now guessed to be a female considering her voice – slowly got her hand away from Tzuyu's mouth. Tzuyu stayed quiet like she was told as Mina just watched, bewildered. Once the guard was done cutting the ropes that limited Tzuyu's movements, she turned to Mina. "Forgive me, your highness. Had I known this job involved kidnapping someone let alone you, I wouldn't have taken it." The sincerity in the woman's voice reached Mina's heart and she merely nodded as the woman began working on the ropes that probably left a few bruises on her body.

The small guard lifted her helmet up and showed her face to the people she just set free.

"You're...Chaeyoung, right?" Mina asked as she rubbed her sore wrists.

"Yes, your royal highness-"

"You're a dwarf!" Tzuyu couldn't keep her excitement as she raised her voice, soon to be hushed by the two other women.

Chaeyoung shook her head, unamused and annoyed, "I may be small, but I am no dwarf." She pushed a bow and a sword into Tzuyu's hands and Tzuyu slightly bowed her head in gratitude, "Oh, thank the heavens! I thought I'd never see these again. My babies."

"Now, we must get out quietly. Follow me and please stick close, your highness."

Mina nodded eagerly, happy that such a kind soul had managed to find her in such dark times.

"Chaeyoung." Tzuyu called without emotion as they walked through the halls of the house.

"Yes?"

"Show me that other guard's room."

Chaeyoung refused. "That guy was telling the truth. There's nothing left of your savings-"

"Just show me his room. I just want to check on something. It'll only be a second."

After stopping in front of the other guard's room, Chaeyoung warned Tzuyu that they'd be gone after only a minute. Tzuyu just nodded and slightly opened the door before venturing inside. When she came out with a straight face after a few seconds, Chaeyoung asked in pure curiosity, "What did you do in there?"

"I just checked if he was still breathing."

Despite knowing what Tzuyu was hinting to, Chaeyoung still wanted to make sure so she asked hesitantly, "Is he... breathing..?"

"Not anymore." Tzuyu said, looking at the glowing red blood that was dripping down her sword as Mina turned her head away from the terrifying sight.

***

Chaeyoung got them out effortlessly, as if she had grown up in that house over the years. 

Mina released a sigh of relief as she breathed in the fresh air and shivered as the night's breeze blew, hitting the leaves on the trees and making them sway, providing a pleasant sound. She heard Tzuyu thank Chaeyoung when the little noble woman gave her a map. Tzuyu's face scrunched up in confusion, "This is a map of Tawenia, though, not Cardenion."

"You do know that we _are_ in Tawenia right?"

....

...

"...I do now." Tzuyu simply answered.

Chaeyoung advised them to use the forest instead of the road and reminded them to cover their tracks, and Tzuyu thanked her once more, "You're cute, dwarf knight. Where can I find you later?" She said with her trademark grin and winked, making Mina roll her eyes so hard that they hurt.

"I'm not. a. dwarf. You stinky elf."

"Hey, you can't blame me on that one! I was held captive for three or more days. I couldn't really shower whenever I liked, _dwarf_."

Mina put her hand on Tzuyu's shoulder and made her turn towards her. She almost shouted but managed to keep her voice a harsh whisper as she asked, "You're an elf?!" in surprise.

" _Half_ -elf actually." She paused, "Why? Does that scare you?" Tzuyu asked, clearly annoyed by Mina's reaction to her race.

"I didn't mean it like that." Mina said, defending herself, "My kingdom might not be too fond of elfs, orcs or dwarfs, but believe me when I say I don't care about one's race as long as they are good natured."

"Indeed, our princess is so kind." Tzuyu replied mockingly, wiping a non-existent tear from her eye.

"Shut up." Mina muttered.

Chaeyoung bid them farewell and said she'd be praying for the 'one and only princess's safety' as Tzuyu fake gagged. When they were finally alone in the forest, Tzuyu turned to Mina once more.

"Sooo....what did you say before? Something about, thrice the amount of gold I had?"


	2. Plans

"Soooo, what the fuck do we do?" Tzuyu panted as she and Mina walked through the woods, obviously annoyed that they have been running away from Nayeon for heaven knows how long now. The sun had just risen, barely warming them.

"We're in Tawenia and you're asking me?"

"Just because I'm Tawenian, it doesn't mean I know the whole kingdom, princess."

"Right, I didn't think so either. It would be too much information to keep in your tiny brain." Mina was annoyed. She was tired too. There was no need to be a jerk but Tzuyu just couldn't be nice, could she?

Tzuyu rolled her eyes at the unnecessarily savage remark and unrolled the map to look at it, trying to make sense of the locations. Mina noticed this and leaned close, taking a glance at the map also.

"I know this town!" Tzuyu exclaimed all of a sudden, showing a red dot on the map and hopping a little in her place like a little kid. "I have a friend there– she's super nice, I bet she'll let us stay there for a while."

"For a while? I thought we were in an agreement to–"

"Do you think crossing a kingdom is gonna take you only a day or something? It'll take us at least a week to get to Cardenion on foot, and I'm pretty sure we're gonna need some stuff for the journey."

Mina hummed softly, "Well then, we should hurry." She started walking towards the town Tzuyu was so excited about, holding the hem of her half-torn red dress. She nearly tripped because of it and Tzuyu immediately helped her regain her balance. "You know, it would be much easier for you to walk without this dress."

Mina threw her a look, "You want me to walk naked?"

Tzuyu grinned, "I wouldn't mind it."

Mina's mouth fell open in shock and she harshly shook off Tzuyu's hold, making her laugh, "Oh come on, I was just kidding!" Tzuyu tried to make up as Mina walked away from her.

***

When they finally reached the town, it was around the afternoon. They were both really tired, and Mina, who was not used to this much movement, was about to faint from the way her legs were hurting. Tzuyu noticed this and cackled, muttering something about how low her stamina was. She then offered her a piggyback ride, but Mina refused instantly, unable to swallow her pride.

So Mina followed Tzuyu towards one of the houses, which was a bit away from the town center– almost isolated. She made no comment about how spooky the big house looked in her eyes as Tzuyu knocked on the door. Mina unconsciously stepped behind the taller girl, sticking very close to her that Tzuyu's ponytail tickled her face.

When the door opened, Mina looked over Tzuyu's shoulder to see who it was.

It was a short girl with orange locks and purple robes, sleepily staring at them with a blank face before her whole face lit up, and with her eyes wide, she grinned at them in awe, "Tzuyu?!"

"Dubuu!" Tzuyu stepped forward and hugged the girl with a hearty laugh as Mina stood back, watching the exchange with curious eyes.

The redhead pulled back and with her wide eyes, she stared at Tzuyu, "I thought you'd be dead by now!"

"Oh wow, thanks." Tzuyu deadpanned, sarcasm dripping down her voice.

"Hey, you can't blame me for thinking that when you've angered that crazy Cicero."

Tzuyu shivered as she hugged herself, "Don't even remind me. That whore literally sent three assassins after me just because I refused to sleep with her."

The girl laughed before she saw Mina awkwardly standing a little away from them, "Hey, girlie, can I help ya?"

Mina kept her posture straight as she opened her mouth to answer but Tzuyu was quick to answer on her behalf, "Oh, she's with me."

The red-head raised an eyebrow at Tzuyu before her eyes ran up and down Mina, as if checking her out, "I thought you liked your girls blond?"

Mina made a disgusted face as Tzuyu explained, "She's the princess of Cardenion, you dolt."

The redhead laughed weirdly, "Yeah right, and I'm the queen of Dubuland, how may I serve you?"

Annoyed and impatient, Tzuyu's voice came out firmer, "Can we just go inside before I explain everything, Dahyun?"

Dahyun opened the door broader, revealing the darkness inside with a funny grin. 

Mina immediately latched onto Tzuyu's arm which made the taller girl throw her a confused look. Mina avoided her eyes, but Tzuyu could feel how Mina's hands were shaking, although her face was blank as always. As they slowly walked inside, Tzuyu herself started to feel a little uncomfortable. Suddenly, the whole place lit up and Mina jumped, almost fully hugging Tzuyu in panic.

Tzuyu rolled her eyes, "Dahyun, this isn't funny. We don't have time for your sick games."

And with that, Dahyun appeared before them out of thin air and Mina let out a short scream.

"But you always play with me when you come here..." The redhead said, pouting.

"I'm sorry but I really don't have time. There are people after us."

Dahyun scoffed, "Fine, fine." With the snap of her fingers, three chairs appeared in the empty room, causing Mina to gasp. Dahyun sat down on one of them and Tzuyu followed in a calm demeanor. Mina, however, was still shaken up by the things she had just witnessed. As her mind tried to process everything, she stood still like a stone. Tzuyu threw her a questioning look.

Mina backed away a little, "S-She's a witch–"

Tzuyu narrowed her eyes, not amused by Mina's exaggerated actions. "Sit your dramatic arse down, she's harmless."

If it was any other occasion, Mina wouldn't have hesitated to smack the tall girl. But right now, she was more focused on the witch just a few feet away from her.

Hearing horrible stories about witches since childhood, it was natural for Mina to have her doubts. Sure, this 'Dahyun' girl didn't look like what she had expected from a witch, but still.

Tzuyu frowned at the sight of Mina visibly shaking. Was she really being serious? The dim light of the fireplace was enough for Tzuyu to notice the horror written on the girl's face and she sighed, defeated. She stood up. This wasn't going to go anywhere if she didn't do something.

A soft whisper near her ear made Mina conscious of how close Tzuyu had gotten without her notice, "Let's just sit down and talk, okay? We can just leave today if you don't want to stay here." Tzuyu's tone was annoyed and surprisingly, underneath it all, a little concerned.

"...L-Let's just get what we need and get out of here." Mina replied with her voice shaking. She grasped Tzuyu's arm desperately as they walked towards where Dahyun was sitting.

Dahyun was still grinning when Tzuyu sat down and Mina hesitated to leave Tzuyu's side.

"Why don't you sit on her lap if you feel that insecure?" Dahyun suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

Tzuyu glared at Dahyun as Mina awkwardly sat down on the chair, not finding the courage to talk back to a witch. She didn't know what Dahyun was capable of.

Tzuyu immediately filled Dahyun in on what happened, skipping some details. Dahyun still found it hard to believe that the heiress of Cardenion was in Tawenia, but she trusted Tzuyu anyways.

"You lost all your money?!" Dahyun gasped a little too dramatically.

Tzuyu looked down to her fingers, the lump in her throat growing.

Dahyun frowned, looking like she had lost her favorite doll, "What are you gonna do? Sana might-"

  _Sana?,_ Mina thought.

"She won't." Tzuyu cut her off with a determined voice. "Not if I help the princess back to her castle. So please, can you help us?"

Dahyun sipped the tea she made out of thin air, "What do you want?"

"Some clothes for her," Tzuyu gestured Mina, "and some food to last the journey. A little care for my equipment would be nice too, if I'm not pushing my luck."

Dahyun nodded her head, "Assuming she really is the princess, Cardenion must be in total chaos. I'll help you."

Tzuyu smiled, her heart full of gratitude, "Thank you! Thank you, you softest tofu-"

"You owe me days worth of play time once this is over though. Got that?" 

The tall girl chuckled nervously, "Right, sure."

Dahyun's red locks swayed one way to the other as she stood up and waved one hand towards Mina. Half a second later, a few brand new clothes fell on Mina's hands and she immediately left the room, not even thanking the redhead. Dahyun muttered something about 'ungrateful spoiled princesses'. Mina came back a minute later in fresh clothes; pants and a shirt underneath a vest that was held together with a belt, and leather boots that completed her look. It was new for her to wear something like that, but she thought it was super comfortable and wondered why her mother never allowed her to wear such things.

Although Mina found her outfit a little plain, it was definitely more well designed than Tzuyu's simple jacket and leather vest that served as an armor. Not to mention her pants looked like they were a few years old which actually made Mina feel a sense of pity. 

After Dahyun gave them the food they needed in a bag, with a snap of her fingers Tzuyu's sword flew into the air and started sharpening itself, thus fulfilling all of Tzuyu's wishes. Dahyun collapsed back down on the chair and Tzuyu went to her tired friend's side, "Really thank you, Dahyun. I'll come visit you again."

Dahyun smiled, her eyes slowly closing, "Bring Sana next time. We'll play together. All of us."

"I-I will." Tzuyu replied before turning to Mina in a rushed manner, "Shall we go?"

Mina looked over Tzuyu's shoulder to the sleeping Dahyun, "Is she okay?"

"Kind of strange for her to fall asleep after only using so little magic... she'll be okay though, she just needs to rest. "

Mina plainly nodded her head in understanding and slowly sat down on the couch near the window, gazing outside.

"Uh...are we not going?"

"Wouldn't it be better to leave tomorrow at sunrise?" Mina said, her gaze fixed on the children playing outside.

Tzuyu smiled gratefully. "That is the most logical thing I've ever heard from you, wow."

"Shut it."

Tzuyu took a bow with a grin etched on her face, "As you wish, your highness."

 

* * *

 

"Do you have to leave so soon?" Dahyun whined with a pouty face. And then while looking especially at Mina with a grin, she teased: "I was just about to poison the tea." 

Mina brought her hands together in front of her elegantly and threw Dahyun a look that could kill millions.... which didn't seem to have any effect on the witch at all.

Tzuyu laughed at the interaction.

The sun had just risen and Mina felt fully energized, having had a good, peaceful sleep. She had even taken a bath before sleeping, which effected her ill mood in a good way. As Tzuyu and Dahyun said their goodbyes, she watched the villagers in the distant town's square work: some merchants' loud voices reached her ears and it made her think about how much she had not seen of the world. Even the mere sight of a village struck awe in her heart, lost in the way how it was so much different from living in a castle. She felt so much pity whenever she saw all those people working to feed their kids that complained about how hungry they were. And Mina wished she could help them, but her hands were tied at the moment.

She promised herself to look after her people the way they deserved to be, later when she became queen.

So in between the sounds of birds singing, they listened to the sounds of their footsteps as Tzuyu lead the way to their next stop. Mina watched the way the backpack swayed with Tzuyu's movements. Tzuyu was carrying everything, and it did make her feel a little bad about it. But on another hand, she was also used to it. She was a princess after all.

They didn't talk.

Not even a snarky comment was made by Tzuyu when Mina let out a high-pitched yelp as she tripped. Mina wasn't even sure if Tzuyu remembered her presence at this rate. Tzuyu was walking a little too fast without looking back even once. Perhaps, if she had, she would notice how Mina was struggling to keep up with her.

"Hey! W-wait–" Mina panted, "I said wait!" She yelled, and Tzuyu finally stopped and turned to her. "What?" she asked, annoyed.

Mina sat near a tree and leaned her back on it, "L-Let's rest for a while," she said, trying to calm her breathing. She watched as Tzuyu just stood still and looked around the forest. Being observant and attentive, Mina had no problem noticing the war of thoughts inside Tzuyu's head. The way her brows furrowed as she gazed away towards a distant place, as if with longing, made Mina curious. What also made Mina curious was Tzuyu's instant mood changes. One moment, she was playful and smug, and the other she seemed annoyed and...sad. 

Mina looked around as well and a beautiful red flower caught her interest, capturing her attention away from Tzuyu. She stared at the literally glowing red flower, admiring its alluring beauty. Almost hypnotized by it, she reached towards it and picked it up. The flower stopped glowing the second she cut off its tie with the ground. Nevertheless, she brought the flower close to her nose, breathing in its unique, addicting scent. She smiled. It reminded her of herself; the red flower. In some ways they were similar. Mina had been planted on the same place since birth but had still glowed brightly like the red flower before her. And the moment she was picked up, her glowing came to an end but she still had her alluring scent.

But for how long?

Mina stood up with the flower in her hand, walking towards Tzuyu who seemed to be out of it, still gazing into distance. Mina took this time to study Tzuyu's features and expressions closely. From her confident eyes to her high cheekbones, ears that were a little longer than any normal human, her brown hair that was messily in a ponytail; everything about Chou Tzuyu was stunning and it was Mina's first time to admit that to herself. And when those fierce eyes she had been staring at found hers, she found her body paralyzed.

"Is that for me?" Tzuyu asked, one corner of her lips curving upwards, forming a smirk as she pointed at the red flower.

Mina felt her senses returning to her once again. She looked down at the flower in her hand and wetted her lips before looking up. Without hesitating she pushed Tzuyu aside while shoving the flower into her hands, walking away. "You can have it if you wish. I had planned on throwing it away anyway."

Tzuyu smiled, and Mina might have been not able to see it, but her smile was genuine and different, nothing like the smug ones she'd show most of the time.

***

When they finally reach the next town, it's afternoon.

They could have reached sooner, Tzuyu thinks, if Mina hadn't requested to rest every fifteen minutes.

It was slightly raining as they entered the town, and the clouds were getting darker, warning them about the storm that was to come. They walked side by side as they looked for an inn or a tavern to spent the rest of the day in, since traveling in the heavily pouring rain would be nothing but a waste of time and energy.

By the time they found a tavern, the drizzle had turned into heavy rain, also bringing the thunder along. Tzuyu opened the doors of the tavern with Mina following close behind, their clothes a little wet.

Tzuyu made a disgusted face at the fight two men were having and to not get involved, she pulled Mina towards a secluded corner that barely got any light, nodding her head slightly towards the tavern keeper for him to acknowledge their presence.

They sat down, their only light source a little candle, burning low. Before them were tankards ready to be filled. Mina's trembling, Tzuyu noticed, maybe from the lack of heat. 

The girl the tavern keeper sent filled their tankards with ale. She leaned a little more down when she was filling Tzuyu's, purposely showing her cleavage that was a little bigger than most. Mina followed Tzuyu's eyes and scoffed in disgust when she saw where they were directed at. Tzuyu chuckled to herself before she averted her gaze.  

"Want anything else?" The girl said flirtatiously at Tzuyu, seducing her with her big, sparkling eyes.

"I might, but will you give it to me?" Was Tzuyu's answer as she flirted back with a sultry voice, causing them both to forget about Mina's existence.

As Mina was utterly disturbed, she tried to avoid the sight in front of her, but her eyes betrayed her and she watched as the girl leaned close to Tzuyu and softly hummed, "That depends..."

"Oookay, that's close enough." Tzuyu said suddenly, gently pushing the girl away from her personal bubble.

The girl laughed and moved away, her long hazel-brown locks swaying with every movement. "I see you haven't changed since last year, Tzuyu. How have you been, my dear child?"

Tzuyu got up and the girl quickly pulled Tzuyu into her embrace, hugging her tightly. Tzuyu smiled, hugging the small woman back. "I've been better."

They pulled away, but the girl kept one arm around Tzuyu's shoulders as she asked with a smile so genuine and bright that even Mina found herself faltering, "Who is she?"

"I'm Myo–"

"Myo Moni! She's Myo Moni, my new girlfriend."

Mina stared at Tzuyu in disbelief, but before she could protest, the brunette she didn't yet know the name of spoke in a serious tone, "Hope she's not one of those girls of yours, Tzuyu. She looks like a decent girl. You better treat her right."

"Enough about me, what are you doing here?" Tzuyu asked, trying to change the topic, "Last time I saw you, you were in Galorys, how the hell did you get here?"

"Eh, Galorys is boring. I'm a bard here, Tzuyu. I sing and entertain people just like I wanted to. They gave me a place to stay too, I'm grateful." She smiled warmly.

"I'm happy for you." Tzuyu smiled back, showing her single dimple.

Mina cleared her throat.

"Oh right, umm, Mi– Moni, this is Jihyo, one of my close friends."

Mina got up from her seat and bowed elegantly, "It's a pleasure to meet you,"

Jihyo laughed and pulled her into a hug, startling Mina with the affection, "This girl is funny, Tzuyu. I like her!"

Tzuyu faked a laugh.

When Jihyo let go of Mina, Mina was still a little shaken from the amount of affection she received from a total stranger. 

"How's Sana–"

"It would be great if you could bring us two bowls of stew, Jihyo. We came a really long way. Though please do note: we have no coin."

Jihyo threw Tzuyu a weird look, mumbling, "Sure...coming right up and it's on me. I owe you as much," before she took off.

Tzuyu sat down with a sigh. Mina brought the tankard to her lips before she sat down, tasting the ale. It wasn't so bad, but it was nothing compared to the wine Cardenion exclusively produced. Jihyo brought them two bowls stew just like Tzuyu wanted, and took off with a smile. Minutes later they saw Jihyo singing with a lute in her hands, men and women gathered around her to hear her sweet voice. Mina appreciated the good music, but that couldn't be said for the stew or the air around her. The tavern's air was ranked with moisture and the smells of the other patrons - pipe smoke, stale alcohol, filth. 

As for the stew, it was cold and tasteless, almost bitter. To say the least, Mina didn't like it but she still brought the spoon to her mouth, eating whatever it was (because Mina highly doubted it could be called stew) without complaint. Tzuyu watched her as she ate, offering her bread that was a little stale for Mina's taste. 

Surrounded by luxury since birth, no one could blame Mina's taste buds for not liking what was presented to her in such a bad way. Even Tzuyu was surprised that Mina hadn't complained. "I thought you'd be more...picky about the things you eat. Since you're a princess and all."

"I don't have the right to complain, and I certainly won't when there's no need. If my stomach is filled then I should thank the Gods for the food bestowed upon me and be grateful." She smiled like an angel after she finished her explanation, taking another spoonful of the 'stew' before sipping her ale. Expecting a snide remark, Mina braced herself for it, but unexpectedly it didn't come. Mina looked up to find Tzuyu's unblinking eyes staring at her intensely with a hint of admiration and appreciation. Tzuyu seemed to realize she was staring so she broke the eye contact and swallowed, grabbing the ale hastily only to drink it in one go.

"So...Moni? Really?" Mina grinned, and with that the tense atmosphere dissolved.

"Shut up! It's not like you were doing better. You were about to give her your real name!" Tzuyu exclaimed.

Mina leaned further towards her, "But that's because I thought you guys were close?"

Tzuyu groaned, "We are but sometimes Jihyo can't hold her mouth, she stresses out when she's told a secret, and blurts it out without meaning to. I just don't want to get her involved."

Mina nodded her head understandingly. That certainly would be a problem. If people knew she was a princess, so many would be after them, good or bad, just to be the one who recieves the prize when the princess is returned to the king. Worse case, she could get kidnapped again for blackmail purposes. She shivered at the thought and found herself grateful she was with Tzuyu who seemed to be an expert at hiding her tracks, not to mention her sword skills that could protect her better than any of her guards ever could. She felt thankful even though she knew Tzuyu was doing this to get her money back.

"So uh..." Tzuyu slammed open the map on the table, pointing with her index finger as she spoke, "We have two more towns to pass the border between Tawenia and Cardenion. After that we'll need to cross this little mountain -don't worry I climbed it before, it's actually easy- , and pass these three towns to reach the castle."

"And how long will all of that take?"

"Depends. If we find a ride, we'll reach the town near the border in a day. If not, well, It might take us two or even three days. After we pass the border, I'm certain we can be at the castle two days from then cuz I know a shortcut."

Mina nodded with a determined look, "Then we shall use a ride."

Tzuyu chuckled, "Well, it's not that easy. First of all, we have no money and secondly–"

Armored men and a woman suddenly rushed inside the tavern and Tzuyu immediately pulled Mina under the table. As Mina wondered why they were hiding, she noticed the crest on the armor that looked a little too familiar.

Nayeon's men.

She held her breath and glanced at Tzuyu in panic, who seemed annoyed but calm.

"You see the little door in the corner?" Tzuyu whispered as one of Nayeon's mercenaries pushed the owner, causing him to fall. Jihyo rushed to the elderly man's side. "We're going to sneak there when I tell you to, okay? Be calm."

One of the mercenaries who appeared to be a woman, shouted out, injecting fear into people's hearts, "I better not see any movement if you want to keep your worthless lives!"

When the woman turned her back, Tzuyu whispered, "Now!" and they both sneaked towards the door and got in just barely before a mercenary came to search around.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mina put her hand on her erratically beating heart, the unfamiliar feeling of adrenaline pumping through her veins giving her a little scare. She watched as Tzuyu searched for a way out in what seemed to be a basement. Many supplies were hidden, and although it was hard to see, Mina noticed the little light coming from behind the barrels filled with ale. "Over here," she whispered, causing Tzuyu to follow her. Tzuyu pushed the barrels aside with ease and saw a crack, or more like a tunnel, leading outside. 

Tzuyu adjusted her backpack and crouched down to crawl through the narrow tunnel, but before she did so, she looked at Mina straight in the eyes and said:

"I'll go first. But hey, no staring at my butt. I've felt you looking." Then she grinned when Mina had a dumbfounded face that quickly turned into a mischevious one.

"You mean the one I'm staring at right now?" Mina replied, looking at Tzuyu's face with a smirk.

Tzuyu laughed, "Nice jest, princess." She then got inside the tunnel, crawling through it. Mina followed close behind.

When they got outside, Tzuyu cursed herself for not being more careful.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Two rats trying to make an escape, aw, how sad that they won't succeed." The armored woman said, her arms crossed smugly.

Tzuyu narrowed her eyes, obviously not amused. Mina on the other hand, was frightened to her core, but she didn't show it as usual, keeping a brave front.

"Yeah yeah, spare me the bad villain speeches. What do you want?"

"You know what we want," The woman glared at Tzuyu and drew her sword, causing the men beside her to do the same as well.

Tzuyu hastily took her backpack off and gave it to Mina, who was now behind her, before drawing her long sword.

There were total of five people; four men and the woman herself. Tzuyu calculated the chances of herself winning and found her situation to be not that bad, she could handle it. So when the men got closer, she whispered to Mina, not taking her eyes off of the threats before her, "Run."

"What?"

"Go into the woods, I'll find you."

"I can't just–"

As one of the men raised his sword to attack, Tzuyu blocked it with ease, and hit the man's stomach with the tilt of her sword. Meanwhile another one of the mercenaries chose Mina as his target and moved towards her. Mina was too paralyzed to run, but thankfully Tzuyu got in front of her and once again blocked the attack directed at Mina. Tzuyu struggled against the unbelievable strength the orc had, but the beast was no match for her speed, which lead to Tzuyu being the victorious one after quick maneuvers.

Tzuyu turned to Mina, "What are you doing?! I said GO–"

Tzuyu was too late to hear the fast footsteps approaching. When she turned to defend herself, her enemy's sword connected with her arm, piercing through her clothes and cutting her skin deep. She let out a painful groan, and slashed her attacker's leg before she backed up.

"I've had enough of this," the woman said, and moved forward, holding her hand up. Tzuyu felt herself choking by invisible hands on her throat as the woman squeezed her fist, using her magic on Tzuyu. Tzuyu struggled to break free as Mina came to her side.

That's when it happened. Mina held her hands out, as if by instinct when the men and woman got closer. Blinding light enveloped everywhere, its source being Mina's hands. The mercenaries protected their eyes with their hands as the woman shouted in anger, "What sorcery–"

The light blew up, and Mina found herself on the ground, Tzuyu right next to her, coughing as she tried to get air in her lungs. Tzuyu got up in panic and looked around in shock, "Where are they?!"

Nayeon's mercenaries were nowhere to be seen.

Tzuyu turned to Mina, "What did you– how did you do that?!"

"I-I don't know–"

"They literally disappeared– just how powerful are you?!"

Mina hazily got up, having trouble keeping her balance for some reasons she couldn't understand. It quickly went away though, and her head cleared.

Tzuyu was panicking, "W-We need to go. Before they find us. We need to–" She then hissed in sudden pain because of her arm, droplets of sweat rolling down her forehead. Mina looked at her in concern. Why was Tzuyu panicking so much?

"Okay. Okay, calm down." Mina said, gesturing Tzuyu to breathe. She then carefully helped the taller girl into the woods, and they disappeared behind the trees. When they were away from the scene enough, Mina put the backpack down and got the bandages out with some medical aid. She made Tzuyu - who was stubbornly insisting she was fine - sit under the shadow of a tree as she started cleaning around the wound with gentle hands, fully focused on it. Being a princess, Mina knew exactly how to tend to such wounds and she worked delicately on Tzuyu's upper arm.

Tzuyu had lost a lot of blood, which was why she was feeling faint at first, Mina concluded. When Mina was done with bandaging up the half-elf, she put the things back in the backpack and sat down next to the taller girl who seemed to be a lot better.

"Come on, we need to move," Tzuyu said, now in a calmer manner, "They could–" Before she could get up, her head was pushed towards Mina's lap, making her lie down.

"Just rest, you giant buffoon." Mina said, her voice gentle and soothing. When she pulled Tzuyu's hair free from the tie to run her fingers through the soft long brown locks, she felt the girl relax and release a content sigh.

She had never seen Tzuyu this vulnerable until then, and somehow, it made her finally realize that Tzuyu was just a little girl like her, although probably even younger. Mina smiled faintly when she felt Tzuyu drift off almost immediately, confirming the suspicions she had about Tzuyu not sleeping a wink to be on the lookout every night.

She leaned back against the tree and continued to stroke Tzuyu's hair, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. At least it wasn't raining anymore.

They were wrong about the storm.


	3. Of Open Hearts

 

As the wind gently caressed the leaves and encouraged them to fall, Mina and Tzuyu walked side by side in the forest, more cautious and... tired than ever.

 

"We're nearly there."

Mina nodded. The thought of sleeping in a comfy bed in a warm room was what kept her going at this point, not having stopped walking since Tzuyu woke up early in the morning.

It was hotter than the day before but fortunately, the forest trees were tall enough to cast shadows that blocked the afternoon sun. 

Yes, it was now afternoon.

"Is your arm okay?"

Tzuyu seemed startled, not expecting the question. "Yeah," she breathed out. "Yeah, it's nothing, don't worry about it."

Not liking how serious and stressed Tzuyu was, Mina tried to keep the conversation going. So she teased, "It's not like I was worried– I mean who would protect me if you lost an arm?" Mina smirked, waiting for the half-blood to snap back at her.

Tzuyu abruptly stopped and looked at Mina for a second before hurriedly averting her gaze and continuing walking. "Right, of course," she said softly as a shocked Mina stood rooted to where she was, not even blinking.

Tzuyu's face had been sad and disappointed, catching Mina off guard. Mina felt like she kicked a lost puppy.

Mina jogged towards Tzuyu to catch up to her. Now the atmosphere more awkward than ever.

This wasn't what Mina had aimed for. But it shouldn't be too hard to fix, right? She had taken lessons on how to apologize and clear misunderstandings back at the castle.

Mina tried to swallow and speak at the same time but ended up choking on her own spit, coughing violently.

At that moment as Tzuyu hit her back not-so-gently, she made a mental note not to joke when Tzuyu was in a foul mood.

 

* * *

 

Slamming her empty tankard on the table, Tzuyu gestured for the maid to pour her another one. As the maid rushed with the wine bottle, she couldn't help but think about Jihyo. She had left her friend in the worst circumstances and never even got a chance to say goodbye. Praying for her well-being, she sighed, thanking the maid with a strained smile who seemed happy for receiving the simple gesture.

She considered going up to the room Mina was sleeping in, knowing that it wasn't a very good idea to leave her alone for long.

The bard grabbed the lute and started playing a song only known to the people of Tawenia, as if trying to convince Tzuyu to stay a little longer with her sweet voice.

 

_The scars that have yearned for a tender caress_

_A voice, trembling, frightened, begging no less_

_The scent– smoke and unforgiving rain_

_Oh the violent eyes, watching as they weep_

 

She stood up and left to Mina's room, not wanting to hear more of the song.

 

* * *

 

"One more town 'till we reach the border."

It was a fine morning, birds were chirping and children were playing outside as Mina and Tzuyu talked in front of the tavern, getting their things ready.

"Are we walking again?" Mina crossed her arms, displeased.

Shooting Mina a proud smirk, Tzuyu turned  and walked towards a carriage. Approaching the young coachwoman with a seductive smile, Tzuyu looked up and gently put her hand on the woman's leg. "Milady," she said with a low voice.

Mina watched, getting embarrassed by her companion by the second. She couldn't hear what they were saying but she could very well guess. She raised an eyebrow when the coachwoman frowned and Tzuyu walked back to her with a dejected face.

Mina bit back a laugh. "That is not how you seduce someone."

"Oh really? I'd like to see _you_ try, princess." Tzuyu scoffed.

"Alright," Mina replied, feeling challenged. She pushed past Tzuyu and smugly showed her a smile over her shoulder. "Watch and learn."

Tzuyu shook her head slowly and rolled her eyes.

"Greetings, madam," Mina softly called out to the coachwoman, catching her attention. "I've come to apologize for my companion's behaviour, if you please." Looking into the coachwoman's eyes deeply with the hint of a smile, she bowed slightly.

"O-Oh um...It's quite fine."

Mina continued with a sad voice and a strained smile, "You're very kind. Oh, how I wished my companion was like you."

The coachwoman's chest swelled with pride and she glanced at Tzuyu who was crossing her arms, watching the conversation. "She giving you trouble, milady?"

"Oh my, kind madam, it seems to me that you know more than just riding horses." Mina said suggestively, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"O-Of course. I'm not a simple coachwoman–"

Mina climbed up and sat next to her with a seductive smile but keeping enough space between them, her voice dropping lower. "I have no doubt of that...you're different. I don't remember ever having a couchwoman beautiful as you."

"Thank you," The woman breathed out as Mina licked her lips, drawing the woman's attention to her mouth. She got closer, letting the woman feel her warm breath on her cheeks.

And then abruptly, Mina pulled away and jumped down the carriage. "Well, it has been lovely talking to you but I must take my leave–"

The woman gulped. "W-Where are you going?"

"Me and my friend must find a quick way to get to the town, Luenth, before sundown, I'm afraid." Mina bowed again. "Farewell, madam." Just as she turned to leave, she heard the coachwoman shout behind her:

"I can take you! T-There, I mean. I can take you there."

Mina did her best to look surprised when she turned to face her, and with a apologetic smile she said, "That's very kind of you madam but I'm afraid we have nothing to offer in return..."

"Fuck that. What good am I if I'm gonna let a nice lady like you in need? Hop on and we'll leave right away, milady." The woman winked and Mina hid her giggle behind her hand.

"It's hard to believe there are still kind souls like you around, madam. I sincerely thank you!"

With a one last bow, the princess returned to Tzuyu with a smirk. Tzuyu was standing exactly the way she had left her: arms crossed, rigid posture, clenched jaw.

"Done." Mina said, her eyebrows rising a notch as she happily announced the news, satisfied.

Breathing out a heavy sigh, Tzuyu pushed back her annoyance and tried to calm down. "Well, it took you forever."

Mina laughed. "No, it did not."

"Yes, it did. You were talking for over an hour." Tzuyu replied as they walked over to the carriage with their bag.

"No, I wasn't." Mina kept her smirk, crossing her arms as Tzuyu threw their bag in the carriage. "Admit it, you giant, I was good."

Tzuyu snorted. "As if."

"Aw, is your little pride hurt?" Mina giggled, climbing inside the carriage.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself. When you were busy burying your face in books in your castle, I was busy burying my face in-"

The carriage started to move, cutting Tzuyu's sentence off as she tried to get inside it before it sped off. Mina laughed loudly as Tzuyu ran to catch up and struggled but finally manage to throw herself inside the carriage. Mina had to thank the coachwoman for the entertaining show later.

Tzuyu was grumpy the whole ride, but if Mina was being honest, she preferred grumpy Tzuyu to cold, serious Tzuyu. At least grumpy Tzuyu snapped back and didn't make things awkward.

 

 ***

 

Tzuyu woke up with the sun warming her face, Mina gently shaking her.

"We're here," she heard Mina say, as she forced herself up and stretched her muscles. She breathed deeply before getting off the carriage with their bag, following Mina.

When she jumped off, she saw Mina talking to the coachwoman. They were very close to each other and Tzuyu scoffed when Mina leaned in even more.

"It was a very good ride," Mina whispered suggestively, kissing the blushing woman's cheek as Tzuyu gagged behind them.

Mina looked back at Tzuyu with a smile before turning to the coachwoman and thanking her.

Like their usual routine, Tzuyu and Mina walked towards the tavern to rest but this time, quarrelling all the way.

"You're just jealous because I was the one who got her while you couldn't."

Tzuyu laughed exaggeratedly as they entered the tavern in a heated argument. "Do you even hear what you're saying? I can get anyone I want and it won't even take me a minute!"

"Oooh, is that so? Then prove me your charms, giant!" Mina yelled with her arms crossed as they stood in the middle of the tavern. Her smile disappeared as she glared at the tall woman.

The tavern keeper and the patrons, having gotten used to witnessing fights, minded their own business and bards didn't even bother to stop playing music, as if everything was normal.

Tzuyu walked away with a determined face and grabbed the wrist of a random girl in the tavern, pulling her close to herself, leaving only inches between their lips. "Care to dance with me, milady?" Her voice was a sultry whisper in the girl's ear and a 'yes' was heard between the young maiden's uncontrollable giggles. The two of them stumbled on their ways into the center, right in front of the bards. Tzuyu raised her eyebrows at Mina who was watching them dance, her arms crossed and her back leaned against the wooden wall.

Having proved her point, Tzuyu let go of the girl and thanked her for the dance with a bow, leaving with a triumphant grin on her face.

"Hold on, pretty face..." The girl slurred her words as she seized the half-elf's wrist. "You forgot somethin'," As the girl got closer to her, the heavy scent of alcohol warned Tzuyu, making her finally realize that the girl was drunk senseless. A soft pair of lips touched her own and Tzuyu could taste the wine's bitterness briefly before she pulled away quickly, making the girl fall flat on her face, drawing laughter from the people around.

Muttering an apology, Tzuyu searched the room with her eyes for Mina, finding her sitting at a far seat in a corner. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and walked towards the seat across the princess.

"Choosing a drunken maiden? That's low, even for you." She heard Mina say calmly as she sat down.

"I didn't know," Tzuyu sternly defended herself.

"Of course not." Mina didn't look Tzuyu in the eye even once as she spoke, inspecting the water in the tankard as if it was her first time seeing it.

An uncomfortable silence fell, much different from the playful mood the two of them entered the tavern with.

From the corner of her eye, Tzuyu looked at Mina and sighed deeply, defeated. "Fine, I guess you weren't so bad with the coachwoman–"

Before Mina could register Tzuyu's soft-spoken words, a voice much louder caught her attention and she looked up from the tankard to find the drunken girl from before sitting on Tzuyu's lap.

"Why'd ya leavee..mhhm..." The drunk breathed out as she wrapped her arms around her neck. Tzuyu grimaced at the smell when the girl got closer to her face.

Tzuyu was uncomfortable.

 

_Very_ uncomfortable. 

 

Especially when the girl laid her head on her shoulder, staring at her under hooded eyes, her hand grazing the skin of her neck almost teasingly.

Tzuyu wasn't use to this. She wasn't used to people being... this bold with her. 

Just when she was stuttering out a protest against the drunken girl, a sharp voice _demanded_ :

"Get off. Now." Mina stood right next to Tzuyu, who was still sitting with the girl on her lap.

The girl glared up at Mina before she pouted. "Ahh, whyyyy?" The girl whined, snuggling further into Tzuyu's neck. Tzuyu had enough of it by then, and pushed the girl away, trying to get her off her lap.

"Because," Mina started, rolling her eyes before she forcefully pulled the girl off her companion's lap and much to Tzuyu's surprise, sat on it herself. She threw her arms around Tzuyu's neck and hugged her close, glaring at the girl who now looked at them with anger, barely able to stand. "She's mine, you drunkard."

The girl scoffed before turning her back on them, walking to where she was in the first place.

Tzuyu was beyond shocked, and somewhat relieved because the drunk girl had left them alone, but overall, she was speechless.

As they watched the girl walk away and knock down a few tankards and plates on the way, Mina sighed, visibly relaxing. "Must I do everything?" She complained, turning to face Tzuyu. "I swear, you are the most troublesome... companion..." Mina's words faded away as the proximity between their faces became known to her. Shutting her mouth, she stared into Tzuyu's eyes, captivated like that time in the forest.

Tzuyu wasn't that much different. With Mina on her lap, her hands around her neck, it was hard to think. Tzuyu knew she was always weak when it came to beautiful woman and well, Mina was very attractive, it would be dumb for anyone to say otherwise. She felt a familiar churn in her stomach, making it hard for her not to pull the princess closer. It wasn't just her body naturally responding but her mind also, erasing everything from itself but Mina's sweet lilac scent, her eyes that shone like the brightest star... If it had been any other woman, Tzuyu would have kissed her senseless by then. But she froze.

 

She was nervous.

 

With a deep breath, Mina blinked a few times before she tore her gaze away and hopped off Tzuyu's lap. Sitting on her own chair awkwardly as Tzuyu regained her senses, Mina cleared her throat.

"Thank you," said Tzuyu, still not fully recovered.

Now finding tons of things to focus on other than Tzuyu's face, Mina slowly grabbed the tankard and drank the little water left in it, feeling it leave a cold path down her dry throat. She hummed softly in response.

 

A few moments passed, both of them in their own worlds.

 

"It's best if we go now," Tzuyu stood up suddenly, her messy ponytail swaying to the side and hugging her neck.

"Will we walk through the night?" Asked Mina, not quite sure about the choice.

"If you want to, but I wouldn't advise it unless you want to race with the wolves, princess."

Mina rolled her eyes. "I wasn't saying we should, smartarse."

An amused grin stretched the corners of Tzuyu's mouth. "We'll camp in the woods when it's late then." Adjusting the bag on her back, Tzuyu walked away, leading. "Let's go."

 

* * *

 

As the crackling campfire warmed Mina's cheeks in the cold forest, Tzuyu threw another dry wood on the fire to prolong it.

Holding her hands out towards the fire to warm them, Mina asked, "Are we still in Tawenia?"

Tzuyu frowned as she looked around from where she was crouching, "Hard to tell since we're off road." She stood up and pulled her hair free from the ponytail, moving to sit on the log next to Mina after getting a blanket from their bag. "We'll check tomorrow but don't worry, I don't think we're far, princess." She extended the blanket.

Mina took it. "Stop calling me that."

A quiet laugh was the response, followed by: "What? You're a princess, aren't you?"

"You speak of it as if you're trying to insult me."

Tzuyu snorted. "I do no such thing, _princess_."

"I have a name and it's Mina." She spoke sternly.

"Aaalright alright, I'll call you by your name, just please don't murder me in my sleep."

Mina giggled. "I won't."

"Promise?"

The forest was dark and quiet in the dead of night. No sign of moving life form besides them. The aged trees had creaking branches, and a howling echoed through the forest, followed by a few others, making Mina question if they were really safe.

"What are you going to do once we reach the castle?"

"What I've always done my entire life." Mina shivered just thinking about it. Or maybe it was the cold. "What about you," she asked. "What are you going to do with all that gold?"

"I need to save someone."

Mina turned her head to look at Tzuyu, sympathetic. "A friend?"

"Family. Cousin to be precise." Tzuyu leaned forward slowly and rested her arms on her thighs.

"What about your parents?"

"Killed."

Mina turned her attention to the fire. "Oh, um.. I'm sorry..."

"It was a long time ago."

Tzuyu picked up a wooden stick and played with the fire, pushing the burning wood back and forth.

"Say, why do you need gold to save your cousin? You're insanely skilled _and_ smart. Can't you just-"

"Oh, I've tried." Tzuyu chuckled bitterly. "They've been moving her across the kingdom for years. She's currently in a rich man's house, working as a servant from what I've heard." A defeated sigh escaped her lips as she tossed the stick to the fire. "That house surprisingly has more guards than your castle, I assure you." Mina doubted that. "They caught me the moment I set foot in it." Tzuyu laughed at the memory. "Turns out they've been warned about me from the other places I tried to break in to save her."

"So... now you're planning to buy her?" asked Mina or well, stated would be a better verb, considering the tone she used.

Tzuyu nodded, her lips forming a thin line. "Yes, and I would have, if it wasn't for the unfortunate incident."

Mina's chest visibly rose with guilt before she said, "I'm sorry."

Tzuyu turned her face at Mina and laughed at the sight of her looking so small. "Ayeee, come on, we're past that. Besides," She put a hand on Mina's shoulder as if to back up her words. "After I take you to the castle, everything will be back as it was. I'll have my money and you'll be...doing all the...princessy stuff you do. Just as you wanted."

 

In that moment, it hit her. Hard.

 

The reality of their situation suddenly dawned on her. It cut her heart deep when she remembered Tzuyu was with her right now for one ultimate goal: to save someone else. She knew it from the start yet the thought still managed to sadden her. As she grew up in the castle, the amount of real friends she had were limited. And most of them lived in other kingdoms. She had been very lonely, and that was the sole reason for her addiction to books. Her books took her to new lands, gave her caring friends and many adventures, everything she wanted, to say the least.

Even the thought of having someone in real life care for her like the friends did in the books, warmed her lonely heart.

But when did Tzuyu even come so close to that to disappoint her now? What was Mina thinking?

 

"You know..." Tzuyu's soft voice brought Mina back to reality and she pulled the blanket closer to her body. "I've been chasing after her for years now."

"She must be really important to you."

Tzuyu smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "She's my only family."

Mina put half of the blanket around Tzuyu's shoulders. "You never mentioned her name."

"Sana. Minatozaki Sana."


	4. Restraints

_"Sana!" Tzuyu's unusual loud voice woke the almost asleep Sana, making her jump from her bed. "Sana! Look what I got!"_

_When Sana blinked the sleepiness from her eyes, Tzuyu came into her focus. The childish grin on her young cousin's face made Sana smile and she couldn't help but open her eyes wider- something she always did to let Tzuyu know she was listening intently. "I wonder, have you found another squirrel that looks like me?" She teased, remembering the time Tzuyu was amazingly enthusiastic about the animal that Sana bore a striking resemblance to._

_Tzuyu laughed and shook her head, tugging on Sana's shabby dress, impatient. "Come on!" She pulled Sana, trying to get her to walk outside._

_Giggling, Sana finally gave in, letting the half-elf drag her outside the small cabin they called home. The morning sun blinded her for a few seconds, reminding her why she had lied down in the first place. The hot weather combined with an empty stomach had made Sana's head spin. Still did, if she was being honest. She could never understand how fifteen-year-old Tzuyu went hunting while her eighteen-year-old self felt like fainting. Maybe it was a half-elf thing._

_When she finally regained her vision and the black spots disappeared, she was greeted by the sight of a dead deer with an arrow in its torso, lying on the grass right in front of their house. She could never handle the sight of blood well but her growling stomach made her focus entirely on something else: hunger. Her wide eyes landed on Tzuyu, who looked back at her with proud, smiling eyes._

_"Tzuyu, did...did you..."_

_Tzuyu aggressively nodded, unable to contain her excitement. "You should have seen it! It was so fast! But my arrow went whoosh- and-"_

_A few people passed by, giving them strange looks. Sana very well knew what those looks meant and she cut Tzuyu off, getting more worried and scared by the second as they stood out in the open. "Help me get it inside, quick."_

_They shut the door behind them and as soon as they did, Tzuyu found herself in Sana's warm embrace. With Sana being taller, Tzuyu buried her nose in Sana's collarbone, feeling the older girl tremble in her arms. Unsaid words kept them in a silence they both cherished. No matter how hard Sana tried, it was easy for Tzuyu to see the worry and fear Sana hid deep inside herself. Tzuyu always partly blamed herself for it. She had been such a burden._

_Sana squeezed tightly before letting go. She wiped her eyes quickly and chuckled, "Sorry, I get emotional when I'm hungry."_

_Tzuyu fondly smiled up at the woman who looked after her for the past four years. "Don't I know it."_

_This made Sana smile genuinely, "Shut up."_

_...._

_..._

..

The delicious smell of the meat brought Sana back to reality from the memories she was drowned in. Tzuyu's bright dimpled smile was now replaced by her hands that held a knife to cut the rich meat on the counter. Not wanting to get a scolding, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and continued to cut the meat thinly.

"Hey..." She heard a gentle whisper in her ear, "Are you okay?"

She breathed deeply and replied without tearing her gaze away from the meat, "Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She could guess that her response hadn't been very convincing for the other for she felt questioning eyes burning a hole on the side of her head. She stopped cutting the meat and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Momo, really. I just remembered something..."

"Tzuyu?" Sana nodded with a small smile and Momo was the one who sighed this time, returning to washing the fresh lettuce she had just picked up from the garden. "Sorry, I'm just... just worried. They've been making you work hard lately..."

"You're the one to talk. I haven't seen you in bed for a week." Sana scoffed and chuckled right after. "Honestly, do you ever sleep?" 

Momo didn't answer, and Sana turned her head to see her friend washing the lettuce rather aggressively. Taking this as a bad sign, Sana put the knife away and washed her hands, getting ready to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

Momo's teary eyes was giving her yet another reason to just burn the whole place down.

"They've been making you do that again..." Sana gently said out loud before she could stop herself, brushing her long blonde hair away, frustrated. She glanced at Momo who was now openly crying without any sound escaping out of her –a skill she had mastered in years of being a servant–, her tears falling down in the sink. The short-haired girl nodded as if to confirm what Sana was thinking, the corner of her lips turned down as she silently sobbed.

Within a split second, Momo was in Sana's arms of protection with murmurs of Sana's sweet angelic voice filling her ears. "Oh, Momoring..." Sana caressed Momo's head as tenderly as she could, her eyes getting wetter as she felt Momo's small hands cling on her, clawing at her back as if Sana would just disappear if she loosened her hold. Placing a chaste kiss on Momo's cheek, Sana hugged her tighter, feeling helpless for the umpteenth time. She was getting tired of the feeling.

They had to get out of there.

* * *

 

After Mina opened her eyes and let them adjust to the bright morning, she yawned. Surprisingly the warm blanket was still on her, covering her up quite nicely. The fire was now put out, the wind moving the ashes here and there. She stood up after noticing Tzuyu wasn't next to her and her eyes immediately started a search for her companion.

"Tzuyu?" She called, the half-elf's name rolling off her tongue quite weird. Was it because it was her first time saying her name out loud?

"Tzuyu?" She tried again, louder this time, her voice mixing with the sounds of birds chirping. "W-Where are you?" As no answer came, she became nervous. Had Tzuyu left her? Maybe something happened to her? Did her arm's condition get worse? But Mina was sure she had patched it up the best she could! Why wasn't Tzuyu answering-

"You know, if you're always this needy in the mornings, your future partner has a lot to deal with."

Relief washed over her as she heard the amused voice of the person she was looking for. Not knowing how long she was holding her breath, she let it out as she turned to face Tzuyu. Apparently it wasn't really a good idea, because well, Tzuyu was kind of half naked.

Mina didn't even flinch and just focused on Tzuyu's eyes, refusing to look down at the tan smooth skin. Honestly, nudity was never really a big deal back in Cardenion but she always preferred privacy and believed that her body should only be seen by her lover. What can she say? Mina was a romantic.

"Where were you?" Mina said, _trying_ to appear unfazed by Tzuyu's remark and naked torso.

Tzuyu pouted since she expected a bigger reaction, starting to get dressed right in front of the older girl. The sight reminded Mina of _certain_ scenes she had read in books and her face felt hotter than before. "You're no fun.." Tzuyu mumbled as she got dressed, pushing her shirt down and finally letting Mina breathe easily.

Or so she thought.

Water dripped down from Tzuyu's wet long hair and Mina watched as one of the droplets trailed down the curve of her long neck down to her collarbone and disappeared behind the thin cloth of Tzuyu's shirt, leaving the rest of its journey to Mina's imagina– _wait, what?_

"I found a river," Tzuyu said as Mina freaked out inside her mind.

"And you went to swim?"

"I showered, your highness. I _showered_."

Mina nodded with a hum, going back to where she had left the blanket.

"You sounded so stressed." Mina heard Tzuyu snicker behind her. "Were you perhaps, scared~?" The taller woman teased as a smirk showed off her proud dimple.

"Of course not," Mina folded the blanket, stuffing it inside their bag.

"T-Tzuyu? W-Where are y-you?" Tzuyu imitated Mina's voice which sounded absouletly nothing like her– 

Mina was pissed, so she did the first thing her mind told her to do. She turned around and threw the bag right at Tzuyu, who was now giggling. Seeing it made no effect, Mina went to grab the bag once again and started hitting Tzuyu with it continuously who only kept laughing at the sight of her so worked up.

"T-Tzuyu?! T-Tzuyu!" The tall girl further taunted Mina with her mocking imitation as she took the hits with a big grin. 

"Shut up!" Mina shouted while viciously hitting Tzuyu with the bag, no mercy given.

Tzuyu was laughing until suddenly, she let out a yelp of pain. Mina pulled back in an instant. "A-Are you okay?" she asked, the bag slipping out of her grasp and hitting the grass as she put her hands up, startled.

Tzuyu held her arm and hunched over, whining.

"Let me look at it," Mina walked closer to Tzuyu and put her hand on the girl's shoulder, feeling responsible for the pain she was in, "By the Gods, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to–"

Before she could finish her sentence of guilt, Tzuyu lifted her head and her chocolate warm eyes met Mina's, an innocent grin brightening up her features. "Just kidding."

Mina stared for a few seconds, baffled before she straightened her posture and rolled her eyes.

A few seconds of silence later, Tzuyu's soft voice reached Mina's ears. "Jests aside," When Mina glanced at Tzuyu, she saw how the tall girl gathered her wet locks and gently squeezed the water out of them. "You do know I won't just leave you like that, right?"

Mina averted her gaze, crossing her arms. "Of course," She then grabbed the bag and held it out for Tzuyu to take. "After all, without me, there's no money." Her cold and distant gaze fell on Tzuyu's confused eyes. 

Tzuyu frowned as she replied, unsure and somewhat disappointed, "Y-Yeah, I suppose..." Nevertheless, she took the bag from Mina's waiting hands, not being able to come up with a logical explanation how the atmosphere had changed so fast. She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "The uh, road is this way."

Back on the road everything seemed normal. The weather was the best they had seen yet- the sun shining but not enough to bother them, the wind gently caressing them and blowing forward, as if encouraging them to go on. Tzuyu walked behind Mina, making sure the princess was in her sight. The paths near the border were always full of bandits but Tzuyu had always managed to take care of them before when she travelled across kingdoms.

The poor lads didn't know whose money they were asking for.

"Hey, Mina?"

Mina liked hearing her name so...plainly. The only people who called her by her name was her parents (or well, mostly her father) and a princess from another kingdom she was close with. Hearing it like that from Tzuyu's mouth was very satisfying and Mina strangely wished she could have caught the sight of Tzuyu's lips forming the letters. "Yes?"

"Walk beside me."

A scoff escaped Mina's perfectly shaped lips. "I know I've told you to call me by my name, but that does not mean you can order me around." 

Tzuyu groaned in defeat and appeared close beside her few seconds later. Bandits or no bandits, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"The forest is too quiet." Tzuyu whispered, on alert. "That's never a good sign–"

"Hand aver what ya 'ave,"

Mina latched onto Tzuyu's arm with a soft gasp because of the sudden voice behind them, and Tzuyu rolled her eyes before turning to face the bandit, her hand hovering on the tilt of her sword, getting ready to fight.

"Listen kid-" Tzuyu started giving her cool hero speech but immediately stopped once she saw how many bandits were behind him.

"Well, fuck." Tzuyu cursed as Mina eyed the bandits one by one, there were way too many to count. How did they even get there without them hearing a thing?

"Hey, dwarf! They're mine!" A female voice to the left of them shouted, making the dwarf turn into the direction.

As the figure appeared from the shadows of the trees, "Nayeon?" Mina whispered.

"And who the fuck are ye," The bandit leader - as Mina assumed - showed a golden tooth as he opened his mouth and yelled at Nayeon who stood with her black boots and armor in front of a lot of buff mercenaries– male and female.

"Someone who camped here for days to ambush them, so they're **mine**." She spoke, the power and confidence in her voice even convincing Mina to come with her for a second before she remembered that she'd rather not die by the hands of her half-sister.

"We _live_ here, lady! And I'm not exactly the sharin' type."

"Good. Because we're not sharing. They. Are. Mine."

With buff mercenaries on one side and bandits on the other side, it was very unnerving for Tzuyu and Mina to be in the middle of it all.

"Excuse me," Tzuyu wetted her lips as both leaders of the groups stared at her. "This is all..  _incredibly_  heartwarming and all but, uh," Tzuyu pushed her sword back in and instead put her hand on Mina's back gently, as if telling her to run when it was the correct time. "Mina here, has been forbidden from seeing bandits and crazy half-sisters. It's really bad for her health. So I fear we won't be able to come with either of you."

"What?" The bandit leader with barely any hair (and brain) frowned as Nayeon stared at Tzuyu, her unamused and deadly gaze sending chills down Mina's spine.

Tzuyu puckered her lips and shrugged. "I know. Such pity." She sighed. "We would have had _so_ much fun, ahh." A small smile lifted the corner of her lips and she nudged a dumbfounded Mina's back. As the two of them started walking away, Tzuyu waved. "Well, farewell, ladies and gentlemen!"

Nayeon shook her head with a scoff, "Tch, seriously," she mumbled under her breath. "Go get them." With a simple wave of her hand, she sent mercenaries after the escaping duo, who now ran with all their strength.

The bandit wasn't going to let Nayeon have it so easily it seemed, for he let out a growl through gritted rotting teeth and ordered his men after Mina and Tzuyu as well, throwing a glare at the tall woman in black.

Meanwhile as Mina and Tzuyu ran in the woods, a few arrows flew past them, some tearing their clothes here and there but nothing major. Tzuyu ran behind Mina and steered her to dodge the arrows, careful not to let any of them hurt the girl's porcelain skin.

"There! I see the mountain!" said Tzuyu, pointing forward with her chin.

Mina looked up and saw the mountain in all it's glory. It wasn't that high, just as Tzuyu had said. But it was still...very high. 

"Hurry up!"

Mina was about to collapse. Her legs didn't have enough energy to continue anymore and she no doubt would have fallen if it wasn't for Tzuyu's arm supporting her back and pushing her to continue. "Don't stop," Tzuyu panted and when they finally managed to reach the mountain, Tzuyu led them in a narrow cave full of spider webs. Mina would have screamed but she really valued her life more.

They stood in the darkness of the narrow cave, chest to chest until the sounds of mercenaries and bandits were no longer heard. Tzuyu had her hands on the wall right behind Mina, trapping her, as the said shorter girl held onto her hips for support.

They both kept their eyes outside, ready for anything. Tzuyu let out a sigh of relief that brushed Mina's cheeks gently, "That was so close. We literally just escaped an army of freaks." She chuckled and Mina felt her chest vibrate, "Hopefully we still have some of that luck left cuz we sure as hell gonna need it now more than ever."

Mina unconsciously moved her thumbs up and down on Tzuyu's waist, gently caressing, "At least we're in Cardenion now," she whispered. "As soon as we reach a town, we can talk with one of the guards there and travel to the castle with ease."

Their voices were calm and comforting to each other's ears and their breathing was finally returning to their normal routine.

"All that's left is the mountain then."

Mina nodded, feeling somehow at a loss. She was so close to where she belonged, her home, but this feeling– this _foreign_ feeling that she didn't know how or when had heart in a lonely cage, made her think twice.

She had been unfair and cruel.

What she felt inside her heart concerned her and only her– no one else was responsible of them. And yet looking back, she had dared to act with such coldness that the object of her hidden but growing affection had faltered upon it, questioning where she had done her wrong.

Mina turned head slightly to stare up at the bright orbs of chocolate. She let her mind examine her heart and its thoughts, ultimately coming to the conclusion that what she felt was like none other feeling she had encountered in the past twenty years of her life. It was a pleasant but sad feeling, mixed in with the fear of rejection with a slight hint of hope.

She retracted her hands from Tzuyu's waist, feeling apologetic for acting so selfishly. Tzuyu had never asked for her to feel in such a way but Mina had acted as if the tall girl should take responsibility for it. She had no right. _She_ was the one who offered the deal in the first place. The unfairness of her past actions sickened Mina to the stomach and she tried to slide out of the narrow cave, shame grabbing her in its red embrace.

"Wait," her voice stopped her, along with a hand on her arm, "Let's wait a bit more. To be sure it's really safe."

With a silent nod, Mina slowly moved backwards until an impatient Tzuyu gently pulled her back to her previous place, making distance nonexistent between them once again. Mina looked up at Tzuyu wide-eyed, certainly not expecting it. Tzuyu made eye contact for a few seconds before averting her gaze at the same time Mina did, both of them choosing to look outside instead.

Mina's heart betrayed the warnings of her mind and beat faster, throwing Mina into panic at the possibility of Tzuyu _feeling_ her fast heartbeat considering how their chests were stuck together.

It was already hard for her to breathe and when Tzuyu leaned her forehead against hers, she stopped breathing all together.

"Sorry... I'm just tired," Tzuyu whispered with the lowest voice, which would have gone unheard if Mina wasn't so aware of every single thing about the half-elf at the moment.

With courage she couldn't quite place where she had suddenly gotten, Mina looked up again and upon seeing Tzuyu's closed eyes, she shut her own. She could feel Tzuyu's chest rising against hers with every breath and for a few seconds she focused on that only. When she ultimately opened her eyes, she cuaght Tzuyu staring at her with her big doe eyes and they were just so close, standing there with their noses brushing against each others.

"What are you really going to do when you get back?"

"Nothing," Mina plainly whispered back, not wanting to think about the nightmare that's been haunting her.

Everything scared Mina now.

Her heart that kept racing wildly; her mind that seemed to be only wanting to focus on the present; her choices as a princess and the consequences that came with it.

* * *

 

"Well, we gotta climb from here on."

"You don't say," Mina said, her voice sarcastic as they stood near a cliff.

Giving the princess a look, Tzuyu put down the backpack and started rummaging through it. "So princess, can you climb?"

Mina looked up at the edge they were supposed to climb to and gulped. They were pretty high up and she certainly didn't want to fall to her death. She found no use in lying and replied honestly. "No. I'm not particularly fond of heights."

Taking out a rope, Tzuyu gave one end of it to Mina and held the other in her own hand. "Then I'll go first and pull you up, okay?"

After receiving a nervous nod, Tzuyu put the rope in her mouth and turned around to start climbing after getting the backpack on her back. Mina watched how Tzuyu's arm muscles moved as she continued to climb up, slowly putting her feet on the right places that could support her weight. She was being very careful and Mina appreciated it. She really did.

Unfortunately luck seemed to be against them this time, and several bats flew out of a crack that was right next to the half-elf, startling her. It happened so fast- Tzuyu lost her grip and fell down with a scream.

"TZUYU!"

She didn't know how she did it. She had no idea how it happened. But once she yelled out, bright blue light enveloped her and she found herself flying to catch a hold of Tzuyu. Once she caught her arm, they were pulled back to where exactly Tzuyu had fallen from, with Mina on Tzuyu's back squishing the backpack between them, holding onto the half-elf for her dear life. All of it happened in seconds and as Tzuyu gripped on the rocks tighter than ever, they both panted, adrenaline pumping wildly through their veins.

"What. the. fuck. just happened."

Mina buried her face in the side of Tzuyu's neck, her legs crushing the girl's sides as she squeezed harder- she hated heights. "P-Please, oh dear gods, please c-climb up,"

Taken aback by Mina's vulnerable voice, Tzuyu continued climbing without a word. And when they finally reached the top, Mina was still quite shaken up. Tzuyu gently put Mina down on the ground and cupped her cheek with one hand as she held Mina's shoulder to keep her steady. "Hey hey hey," She tried to grab the terrified girl's attention and lifted her chin up to stare into her eyes. "We're okay. Mina, we made it. Everything's fine." Tzuyu pulled and cuddled Mina into the folds of her arms once she saw the princess's teary eyes. 

"H-How?" Mina mumbled into Tzuyu's chest.

Tzuyu stayed silent, not knowing the answer to the question either. The power Mina was in possession of was unlike anything she had seen. It wasn't specific, for example like the power to control fire– she had met a woman with that power once, when she was travelling around to earn gold, unique girl this Rosé was but no, Mina had much greater power than that.

"Perhaps, you are... secretly a goddess who's testing me?" Tzuyu grinned when she heard Mina's muffled chuckle.

When Mina pulled back with strands of her hair stuck to her tear-stained face, Tzuyu offered a small smile. "Listen, once we get to the castle, we can contact Dahyun and ask about these...things you've been doing."

"It's of no use, my parents and I have consulted every physician and magician but none could find out anything."

"You may have gone to physicians or magicians but Dahyun, is a very wise _witch_."

Mina lifted her eyebrows at the word 'wise', unable to believe Tzuyu since she had met the childish witch herself. 

Tzuyu sighed. "Okay fine, I agree that she might seem a _little_ crazy but actually she really is-"

"Off with it! Ye, hurry up, ya wench!"

Tzuyu crouched down as soon as she heard the loud yelling. Mina and her shared a confused look before they both crawled over to the edge and looked down. Although Mina felt dizzy as soon as she saw how high up they were, her eyes flew open when she saw the woman who was in heavy handcuffs being pushed by a dwarf bandit.

Tzuyu voiced out her shock as Mina continued to stare down, "Did I hit my head when I fell or is that captive really your hot but annoying sis?"


	5. Truth

"Well, we got one less thing to worry about now." Tzuyu chuckled as Mina kept her face neutral, staring at the state of her half-sister looking so...broken. Mina gripped on the rocks tighter as the man pushed Nayeon harsher than before, making her fall hard on the ground. Nayeon kept a straight face as the man continued to humiliate her.

Mina turned her head towards Tzuyu and chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "We need to get her out of there."

The grin on Tzuyu's face froze and soon turned into a scowl. "Surely you're not serious?" She was annoyed which Mina found it very easy to detect from her voice. "In case you've forgotten, that woman is the root of our problems. She started all of this."

"She must have had her reasons-"

"For kidnapping us?"

Mina's shoulders dropped as she realized her argument wasn't strong. "Yes."

Tzuyu sighed after seeing the sadness in the princess's eyes. She groaned and banged her head on the ground, burying her face in dirt. "Fine!" She whisper-shouted, her voice coming out muffled.

 

***

They waited until it was night.

It was a veeeery long few hours for both of them. They played a few games but Mina was way too competitive and good at everything to let Tzuyu win which caused the half-elf to sulk and refuse to play any more games with the princess. Her childishness was something Mina expected and she held nothing back as she teased Tzuyu about it to no end.

When the moon was finally illuminating the night sky, Tzuyu climbed down and landed perfectly with a soft thud on the ground of the bandit camp, immediately sneaking behind the bushes for cover. Mina watched the whole thing from the above and her stomach turned uncomfortably- whether it was because of the height or the dangerous situation she had let Tzuyu in, she didn't know.

"Can't believe we're stuck out here with no wine! I need a drink."

The tall orc hit the shoulder of the dwarf bandit lightly and Tzuyu heard his deep voice, "You speak what I think, brother."

The dwarf and orc were standing right in front of Nayeon who was sitting on the ground, her black leather armor stained with dirt, her hands bound. Thankfully, they were keeping the captive far away from the main camp, which made things a lot easier.

 Tzuyu glanced up at Mina who watched her intently before she sighed and grabbed a rock. Without a second thought, she threw the rock away at a tree, trying to cause a diversion. It actually worked and the dwarf's perky sensitive ears caught the noise. When the dwarf got further and further down the path of the mountain to find out the cause of the mysterious sound, the orc seemed to be on alert. It didn't scare the half-elf for she crept up, her steps smooth as a thief's, and jumped on the tall built orc. Clamping her hand over his mouth, she swiftly slit his throat with her dagger, taking his life. Nayeon's eyes widened in surprise.

Mina watched the tall orc fall on the ground with a loud thud, blood oozing out of his neck, coloring the ground red. To say Mina was horrified was an understatement. But as her eyes found Tzuyu's figure, she didn't see hesitation. She didn't see regret, or guilt. Nothing. Instead what she saw was Tzuyu dragging his lifeless body behind a bush- very pointless in Mina's opinion, considering that the dragged body had left a path of blood, making the body almost too easy to discover-

Tzuyu sneaked behind the bush with the corpse right next to her and waited.

A trap.

Clever.

The dwarf panicked when he saw the blood, but blindly followed the trail to his doom, sweat rolling down his forehead. Just as he got close, Tzuyu jumped out of the bushes like a predator, yet killing another bandit for the sake of Mina's half-sister.

Nayeon had stayed quiet during everything that occured. Tzuyu wiped the bloody dagger on the clothes of the dwarf before making her way to Nayeon.

"Why have you come?" Nayeon spat underneath the hood of her black cape, her eyes flickering between the dagger and Tzuyu's eyes.

Without a word Tzuyu knelt down near her, causing Nayeon to flinch but despite her body language, Nayeon's fierce eyes screamed anything but fear. Tzuyu wasted no time in cutting the ropes that tied Nayeon's hands together. Not trusting the raven-haired girl, she backed away instantly after she was done. "Ask your sister that." Tzuyu pointed upwards to where Mina was watching, only the top of her head and eyes visible.

Nayeon frowned and narrowed her eyes as Tzuyu walked away and put her hands on the stone wall, getting ready to climb up to where Mina was. But she never started climbing and glared at Nayeon. "You go first, lady. I don't trust you."

"I don't trust you either."

Tzuyu rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I literally just saved your life."

When they both reached the top, Mina offered her hand for her sister, who refused(ignored) rather coldly with a glare. Clearing her throat, Mina waited for Nayeon to speak. It was actually sort of surprising how Nayeon hadn't tried to kill them right then and there. Not that Mina was complaining. Nuh-uh, never.

"Why?" Nayeon's simple question wasn't a new riddle to Mina's mind. She had been constantly asking herself the same thing over and over again and yet, she couldn't get any more reasons than the one she initially had.

"You are my blood- my sister. I couldn't just leave you to suffer."

Tzuyu put her hand on her chest proudly with a smirk, "Well, I totally could."

Mina could have smacked Tzuyu but she kept her focus on Nayeon who seemed very guarded. But as Mina inspected further beyond the walls of protection, she also saw a glimpse of hope under all the despair. She kept her soft eyes locked on Nayeon's empty ones and took a step forward, speaking with the most gentle voice, "Are you injured?"

Nayeon was hesitant. She kept her focus on Mina only, paying no mind to the tall half-elf behind her who was frowning deeply. The look on Mina's face was of one Nayeon hadn't seen in a long time. She was suddenly reminded of her mother. The ice mask she had put on fell the moment she recalled the painful and happy memories of her dear mother and Nayeon blinked a few times. She averted her gaze and took a step back.

Mina followed her and bowed deeply as she could. After the years of her mother's lessons about the princess never bowing to anyone but the King and the Queen, here she was, bowing to her half-sister with tears in her eyes.

She heard Tzuyu whisper behind her: "W-What are you–"

"I'm aware that this won't change what my father has done. And I may not be the king, but I am a royal of this kingdom, and on behalf of the Royal Family, I apologize for the pain you and your mother had to go through."

Nayeon's mind was flooded with the images of her mother being pushed around, the cruel words of the people around them. She remembered her mother screaming in pain– It's been years and yet, the screams still haunted her daily. "I don't want your useless apology." Her voice was calm and surprisingly so was Nayeon. "I want that bastard to be sorry for what he did. I want him to suffer just as my mother did until her last breath."

Lifting her face, Mina asked sincerely: "Was that what your mother wanted?"

Nayeon clenched her jaw.

"Come with me." Tzuyu groaned in the background as Mina's pleading eyes looked up at the girl in black leather clothes. "Please, come with me to the castle. Because I assure you– just as you want an explanation, so do I."

Nayeon crossed her arms and glared at the princess."And how do I know this isn't your attempt to trick me?"

"Why would I have saved you if my intention were to harm you afterwards?"

In the silence of the night, Mina waited patiently for her sister's answer.

"Alright then. I accept your offer." Her tone was sharp and it held authority. "But only on these terms: You will not take my weapons from me. I can call off the agreement whenever I want and you will not try to convince me otherwise."

Tzuyu grabbed Mina's arm and whispered so that they could be the only ones to hear her words. "No! Mina, this is a bad idea– you can't let this bandit travelling with us, armed no less! She kidnapped us once before, threatened our lives–"

"I agree to your terms."

"Excellent." Nayeon smiled. "And one more thing, your grace?" Suddenly the smile was gone, replaced by a glare. "I am not your friend and certainly not your sister. I've only accepted this...offer of yours to hear what that bastard has to say so that my mother can finally rest in peace. I hope you keep that in mind." She turned around and walked away, her long black cape trailing behind her. "Well, we better get going before those imbeciles realize I've escaped."

"You...you didn't escape, I saved your pathetic arse! You're welcome by the way! Actually no, you're not welcome! Maybe in hell– where you belong–, but certainly not here!" Tzuyu yelled, her insults not quite reaching Nayeon's ears– or perhaps they were but she had chosen to ignore them. Sadly, that could not be said for the bandits. Several shouts were heard from beneath them.

"THE BLOODY WHORE IS GONE!"

"There! They're up there! GET THEM!"

Mina rubbed her forehead in stress and turned to Tzuyu with a glare as a badly aimed arrow barely managed to reach the ground five feet away from them. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about being quiet now, do we?" Said Mina before she chased after her sister.

Tzuyu followed soon after with a sigh. "Yeah sure, let's follow your lunatic sister who kidnapped us once! Great idea, your highness!"

 

***

"I simply can't believe you."

"Oh but you should," Momo grinned as she held Sana's hand, walking across the garden.

"Momo, this is madness. They'll have our heads if we're caught!"

"Then we won't be caught." Recieving a sigh from Sana, Momo grabbed her other hand and pulled her close. "You worry too much! Lord Han left the house early this morning and the servants have all went to spend time with their families. They won't be back until a few days."

"And the guards?"

"There are a few around but nothing we can't handle. So ..please?"

After a few seconds of silence with Momo's puppy eyes trying to convince her, Sana finally admitted defeat. "Alright, fine..I suppose it'll be okay if we're careful–"

Momo ran towards the hill as she kept her hold Sana's hand, dragging her. "Yes! You'll love this. I've prepared a whole basket of delicious food! We even have strawberry cake for desert~!"

As Momo's laughter reached Sana's ears, an inevitable smile grew on her face and they climbed up the hill, hand in hand.

When they reached the top, Momo gasped and hugged Sana's arm close to her. Sana held Momo as she glanced at what had startled her friend. Or who.

It was a young woman in armor, lying on what was supposed to be their picnic blanket that was now nothing but a bloodied cloth.

"I-Is she dead?" Momo asked, terrified.

They exchanged looks before Sana crouched down and put her finger beneath the small woman's nose. "No. No, she's still breathing!" She grabbed the bleeding girl's arm and threw it around her shoulder. "Help me get her to the house. Quickly,"

"Right!" Momo grabbed the stranger's other arm and with struggle they managed to get the girl inside the house, in a guest room.

"I'll tell the guards, you stay with her!" Sana left Momo's side in haste and ran to inform the guards so they could call a physician.

Momo tried to find where the stranger was injured so she could stop or slow down the bleeding. She took off the woman's armor carefully, leaving her in only pants and a white shirt. Finding the injury was quite easy after that. Putting pressure on the wound that was on the woman's waist, Momo then went in a hurry to grab a bucket of water and a small cloth. She dipped it in water and gently wiped the sweat from the injured woman's face and neck. She repeated this a few times until Sana returned with a physician.

"She's burning up," she said to the physician, an old man from the town near them.

"Move aside child, you've done what you can." The old man lifted the woman's shirt with no hesitation and started tending to the wound.

"Is she going to be alright?" Sana asked.

"She's been stabbed very badly. You don't know what's happened to the poor thing, I assume?"

Sana sensed Momo tensing up and moved beside her, reaching to held her hand that was not covered in blood. She shook her head.

"Well, she is quite lucky as it is not a fatal wound." As they relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief, the physician spoke again with a smile. "So are you, I suppose."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Lucky, I mean. This woman is one of the few knights the Queen of Tawenia personally has."

Momo froze. "How can you be sure she's–"

"She carries the mark of the Royal Knights on her chest and very expensive armor, my dear." He smiled as he handed them new bandages. "Her majesty will award you generously for saving her knight's life, I believe."

Dumbfounded, Sana managed to offer the old man a smile. "Uh, well thank you. We'll seek you if something goes wrong."

After they saw the physician out, Momo hurried to the woman's side and covered her bare torso up as Sana placed the wet cloth on her forehead.

"How do we explain this to Lord Han?" Momo asked, her voice low.

"He won't like this," Sana whispered. "He hates the Queen with passion– he'll kill her knight without a second thought."

"Then we should keep this between us." Momo frowned. "We're taking great risk here by doing this, Sana. If anyone finds out–"

"So we should just let her die, then?"

"I didn't say that!" Momo sighed, her features softened. "I just...I don't want us to die for someone we don't even know."

Sana brought her hand up to caress Momo's cheek with a fond smile, "We'll be okay as we've always been." She then pushed Momo out playfully. "Now go get cleaned up, there's blood all over you."

  
***

"Will you stop and listen to reason? Mina, she's leading us to the wrong way."

"And you expect me to believe this isn't one of your schemes to get rid of my sister? As that is what you've been doing since we escaped the bandits–"

Tzuyu grabbed Mina's arm gently and stopped her from walking any further. "No. It is not. I've been through these paths more than just a few times, I'm certain that we're heading the opposite direction of the castle."

Mina turned to face Tzuyu and looked at her in the eyes. "I had sensed something was wrong," she whispered then sighed. "I believe you."

Tzuyu let out the breath she was holding and pushed her ponytail back with a smile. "Good. We should leave before–"

"Tzuyu– My sister still doesn't trust me. And I want her to trust me very desperately–"

"But why? Mina, you don't owe her anything! I don't understand why you must feel so responsible of her–"

"Because I don't want it to happen again! I can't!"

When Mina uncharacteristically raised her voice, Tzuyu flinched– the wind blew harder with Mina's words and Tzuyu had to take a step back.

Mina didn't seem to notice the change in weather as she crossed her arms and swallowed thickly. "I... wasn't the original heir to the throne. My older brother was. I was just a little princess at the time with no responsibilities, enjoying being a child without a care in the world while my brother worked hard to exceed my parents' expectations." She paused and examined Tzuyu's surprised expression. Then she continued. "When I was eleven, we had a stupid fight. I ran to the village–my brother went hunting in the woods to take his mind off of the terrible things we've said to each other. He never came back. Few days later, our men found his lifeless body in the woods and I... was named the heiress. Just like that."

"Must have been difficult..."

"It was. It is. Listen: Nayeon is my sister no matter what she says. Those mercenaries must have cost her a fortune and they either died or betrayed her – either way she's alone. Like my brother was." A growing lump in her throat made it hard for her to speak. "I can't turn my back on her and let her face everything by herself. I was too young to help my brother with his burdens, but I can and will help Nayeon."

Tzuyu breathed deeply as she walked closer to Mina and hugged her. With their height difference, Mina had her face buried in Tzuyu's shoulder. Tzuyu spoke softly with a sigh, pushing her cheek against the side of Mina's head, "So what do you wanna do?"

Mina's tense shoulders relaxed. After hesitating a bit, she ultimately wrapped her arms around Tzuyu's waist. "I want to see where she's taking us. She's not stupid, she's probably aware of you knowing that we aren't going to the castle. Maybe she's testing my trust–"

"Ahem."

They sprung apart.

"I was wondering where you two where. Come on, it's almost morning." Nayeon turned to leave again, her gaze cold and distant as usual.

"Can we rest? Until the sun's up at least?" Mina offered.

Nayeon let go of the sword she got from one of the dead bandits and lied on the grass with a scoff. "Fine. But no fire, we'll be too detectable. We leave at sunrise, no delays."

Tzuyu pulled Mina away from Nayeon and sat down on the ground, motioning Mina to follow. "Listen, I totally understand what you feel but she could be leading us to a trap for all we know. We should confront her. Just...you know, tell her nicely that we're on the wrong way and see how she reacts."

Mina sighed and rubbed her temple. Her head hurt. "I guess that would be wiser."

Tzuyu yawned. "Right, yeah. You should sleep, you look horrible."

"Wow. Okay, that's the first time someone ever told me that."

"Wipe that smug grin off your face and sleep while you can, princess."

 

***

Momo hummed a tune as she collected herbs and vegetables from the garden. Sana had volunteered to do the chores inside the house which left her with the outside chores. She was happy with it, but she was also very worried. The guards were no different than Lord Han and they were even more relaxed without him around. It was dangerous to be near them so they tried not to linger in one place for too long and avoided them as much as they could.

Momo could do nothing but pray for Sana's safety as she entered the house with her basket. With fast steps she went into the kitchen and putting the basket on a table, she glanced around. She spotted Sana crouching to clean the floor of the hall, her knees wet and sweat trailing down her face.

"After I'm done, I'll come help you."

Sana waved her off with a smile. "It's fine. You should check on our guest instead."

"Why? Has she woken up?"

Sana groaned as she she straightened her back. "Not that I know of."

"It's been two days. Lord Han will be home soon. We need her to wake up." Momo extended a carrot to Sana after she washed it.

Sana took a bite of it and spoke. "And for her to do that, we need to look after her. Be patient, Momo."

Momo nodded half-heartedly and managed to show Sana a small smile before she went to the room of their guest. She sat down on the chair near the bed and put her hand on the sleeping woman's forehead. Pleased that her fever was down, Momo smiled as she pushed the stray hairs away from the woman's closed eyes.

She felt weird for bonding with a person who had been sleeping since they met. But she didn't think much of it and grabbed a cloth to wipe the sweat on her face and neck. As Momo dabbed the cloth gently to the woman's collarbones, a sharp intake of breath made her stop and when she looked up, she found a pair of bright brown eyes looking at her.

"W-Where am I?" The small woman pushed herself up.

Momo swallowed thickly. "You're in Lord Han's house, my lady."

The injured woman looked around herself and then to her body. When she noticed the bandage on her waist, she took a deep breath and stood up. Momo was up before she was, and helped her. Once the knight was on her feet, she bowed to Momo. "You've saved my life."

Knowing it would hurt to bow, Momo immediately pushed the woman's shoulders up. She had expected the stranger to be taller, but the knight was even shorter than she was. Momo bowed. "My friend and I are only glad you're on your feet, my lady."

When Momo felt hands on her shoulders, she froze. Had she offended the woman somehow? Was she going to be punished? She was ready to beg for mercy when the woman's soft voice reached her ears. "I'd like to meet your friend too, if you don't mind? I want to properly thank my saviors."

When Momo lifted her head, she saw the woman smiling kindly.

The stranger took a step back, having realized Momo was feeling uncomfortable. She put her hand on her chest and bowed her head slightly. "My name is Son Chaeyoung."

 

***

Tzuyu's eyes slowly fluttered open and she held her throbbing head. Frowning at the pain, she looked around herself and saw no one. No sight of Mina or Nayeon. She jumped to her feet and walked around. "Mina?!"

When a painful groan reached Tzuyu's ears, she ran to the direction it came from.

Mina was lying on a stone table. Her face was pale and she was sweating profusely. Nayeon was cleaning her dagger with a white cloth very calmly despite her sister whimpering in pain.

"What did you do to her?!" Tzuyu reached for her sword but realized it wasn't there. She crouched down at the princess's side and held her hand as she kept her eyes locked on Nayeon, expecting an answer.

Nayeon didn't even lift her eyes and focused on the dagger in her hands. "If you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you get away from her."

"What. did you. do to her."

Nayeon slowly walked towards them and gritted her teeth, dagger in hand. "Get out of my way."

Tzuyu stood up and tackled Nayeon down. The dagger flew out of Nayeon's hand and they heard Mina moaning loudly in pain as they struggled on the ground. Tzuyu grabbed Nayeon's wrists and pinned them next to her head. Nayeon spun them over, and whispered something. Next thing Tzuyu knew, vines emerged from the soil and tied her to the ground. She couldn't move. Nayeon got off of her in a hurry and grabbed the dagger, now and then checking the sun that was slowly being covered by the clouds.

She ran to the stone table and muttered some words that Tzuyu couldn't hear before her voice got louder and louder– she was chanting something, some old language Tzuyu guessed to be a forgotten one.

"You monster! She's your sister!" Tzuyu screamed on the top of her lungs, her muscles burning from trying to get free of the strong hold the vines had on her. Her eyes burned as well– tears filling them.

Nayeon's eyes started to glow white, and she lifted her hands to the sky. She then grabbed the dagger and cut the palm of her hand. She clenched her fist and blood dripped down her hand, falling on Mina's trembling body. She spoke in that weird language again and put her hands on Mina's body. White covered Mina and a force threw Nayeon back while the vines held Tzuyu in place.

Tzuyu felt the vines loosening and slipped out of their grasp before they could tighten again. She ran to Mina's side who looked around in wonder, eyes wide. She was no longer pale nor trembling. She was warm.

Tzuyu pulled her into her arms and breathed a trembling sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Mina asked as she gently stroked Tzuyu's back, confused.

"I broke the curse." Nayeon came out from behind a tree, holding her bleeding hand.

Tzuyu let go of Mina to look at Nayeon. "You saved her–"

"My mother was very angry after your father left her. She cursed him. Every child he has were born to die at the age of twenty-two, the same age my mother was when your father used her for his...pleasure."

Mina's mind immediately went to her brother. He was in his twenties when he died...

Nayeon winced as she wrapped her hand with a bandage.

"Did you steal one of our banda–" Tzuyu shook her head. "Not important right now."

After shooting a glare at Tzuyu who returned it without hesitation, Nayeon turned to Mina. "Anyway. On her deathbed, my mother asked me to remove the curse. Apparently she felt guilty."

"Every curse has an effect that shows itself. How come my family never discovered it?"

"Because you fools thought it was a blessing. A gift."

Mina gripped Tzuyu's arm. "My power."

Nayeon laughed. "Your 'power' was a side effect of the curse, yes."

Tzuyu frowned. "What about your brother?"

Mina swallowed thickly before answering. "His power didn't show as mine but he had it too."

Tzuyu closed her eyes briefly and sighed. "You never really wanted to come to the castle, did you? You were just buying time enough to lift the curse. And when you got your chance, you probably slipped something into my bottle to knock me out while you got Mina."

Nayeon acted surprised. "Color me impressed. You aren't dumb as I thought." She grinned. "Good for you." She leaned over and grabbed her dagger. Tucking it in the waistline of her black leather pants, she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Mina yelled behind her and Nayeon stopped. "You can still come with me to the castle."

Nayeon looked back from her shoulder, her long and straight black hair covering the side of her face. "And why would I do that?"

"Because I want to help you. Whatever you say won't change the fact that you are my sister. You saved my life–"

"I also kidnapped you."

Tzuyu nodded. "True." Mina elbowed her hard. "Ow!"

"Yes, to lift the curse that would kill me. You're not evil, Nayeon. No matter how much you think you are." She hopped off the stone table and walked closer to Nayeon. "You can live a better life. You don't deserve to live like a criminal– constantly in danger. Let me help you. Please."

Nayeon crossed her arms and looked at Mina. There it was. Those eyes again. So full of warmth and kindness.

"I trust you." Mina held her breath as she extended her hand to Nayeon. "Do you trust me?"

Without a word, Nayeon grabbed Mina's hand. There was no change in her expression as Mina smiled at her. They walked back hand in hand and when Tzuyu grinned somewhat teasingly at Nayeon, Nayeon glared back.

"Well, the castle is that way. You dumbarses didn't even know I was leading you in the wrong direction. Come on," Letting go of Mina's hand, Nayeon walked away.

Tzuyu and Mina held back their laughter and just giggled as they followed Nayeon.


	6. Sad and Ridiculous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter! School got in the way lol

"I can't believe this!"

Startled by Tzuyu's loud voice, Mina jumped and turned her head towards the half-elf in pure curiosity. "What's the matter?" She asked, the gentle wind caressing her cheeks.

Tzuyu showed her shiny sword to the princess, and for the first time Mina noticed the beautiful engravings on it, graceful and fierce at the same time. It must have been very expensive for it did not look like it was forged by a simple blacksmith. "Look at this!" 

Mina was confused. "..yes, it is a very beautiful blade."

"Ugh, not that! Look at the scratches on it!"

Mina squinted her eyes and was able spot little scratches on the side of it. 

"There wasn't a single scratch on my baby until your  _sister_ put her filthy hands on it!" Tzuyu yelled while glaring at her suspect, Nayeon, who was walking ahead of them.

Nayeon snorted. "Please, why would I ever–" 

"Don't lie to me, you fat potato!"

Mina gently pushed Tzuyu's chest when the taller girl made an attempt to reach her sister, probably to tackle her down. "Calm down, please,"

As if she was under a spell, Tzuyu took a deep breath and relaxed, her disturbed demeanor fading away in an instant when her eyes met Mina's worriful ones. 

Nayeon smirked and Tzuyu's need to punch her face intensified. "Yes, keep your pet under control, princess. Who knows what could happen to it if you let go?"

"Mina, please." Tzuyu pleaded. "Just one punch. A tiny one. I won't use all my strength. I just want to break her nose. Please."

Nayeon scoffed. "I'd like to see you try, elf."

"Tzuyu. Stop it." Mina spoke with authority in her tone, her brows furrowed slightly. "If Nayeon says she had nothing to do with it, I believe her."

Tzuyu stared at Mina in full disbelief and scoffed when she saw the smug smirk on Nayeon's face. She threw her hands up in defeat. "You know what? Forget it." She stormed off, taking angry steps into the depths of the forest, leaving the sisters behind.

Mina felt a pang of guilt hit her chest as she watched Tzuyu walk away. The look on the half-elf's face was not something Mina had seen before.

"About time you put her in her place. That idiot dares to act as if you're on the same level as her." Nayeon's brows furrowed before she scoffed, following the path Tzuyu took and leaving the conflicted princess behind with her thoughts.

* * *

 

Momo tried to swallow her nervousness as she served dinner for the guards. As she put the water jug down, Sana brought the big cooked chicken on the table. They were quiet the whole time, not risking in any way to put themselves in danger by provoking the men. Which was not hard to do at all– the guards were short-tempered, they were like ticking bombs ready to explode. Even a single mistake, a stray look or a small smile meant countless bruises for the servant girls.

...Momo knew from experience.

_"Please! She didn't mean to!" Sana yelled, her desperate voice cracking in fear, her body trembling._

_"Shut up!" The guard harshly slapped Sana's hands away from him with one hand while the other tightened its grip on a crying Momo's arm._

_"I-It was my fault. No, please!"_

Momo pressed her lips together, the tray in her hands trembling as she grabbed the glasses on it to put them down in front of each guard. 

"Thank you," 

An unexpectedly gentle voice made her flinch, and although she was reluctant, she looked down, unable to overcome the intense curiosity that took over her. 

Bright orbs full of warmth met hers and she averted her gaze almost immediately, nodding her head slightly rather than giving a verbal reply.

Son Chaeyoung. The mysterious injured woman, one of the personal guards of the Queen of Tawenia– the woman she and Sana were currently risking their heads for by hiding her real identity.

As far as the guards knew, Chaeyoung was a noble knight. Nothing more. 

"Where's the fucking bread?!" One of the men yelled, eating his share of the food in an animalistic manner. As Sana ran to the kitchen, the man yelled after her, pieces of chicken flying out of his mouth. "Can't do one thing right! Fucking bitch."

Momo stood still, frozen with the metal tray in her hand. She tightened her grip on the cold metal, hoping that her uncontrollable shivering breaths would not irk the guards.

Chaeyoung cleared her throat loudly, dabbing the napkin around her mouth. 

The guard sneered at her. "Sorry, did I scare you, milady?" He asked, making a few others around the table chuckle.

Chaeyoung was not amused. She directed her cold fierce gaze at the man who started the ruckus and lifted her chin up, confidence oozing out of her words as she spoke, "Oh, not at all. I've dealt with beasts before, I'm quite used to this." 

The man's smirk faded away as his friends' laughter was now directed at him. 

Momo didn't lift her eyes from the ground no matter how much she wanted to see the knight's face. It felt nice to hear someone voice out exactly what she was thinking.

After Sana returned with bread and put it in front of the now frowning guard, she stood still next to Momo and lowered her gaze down just like her. 

Chaeyoung glanced at them from the corner of her eye, their statue like figures drawing her attention. She slowly chewed on the incredibly well-cooked chicken before bringing the tankard to her lips and tasting the expensive ale. She was used to the luxury– having lived in a castle half of her life near the Queen.

Chaeyoung was also used to having servants around, not that she needed them. She preferred doing her own work most of the time. But nonetheless, she could very well remember that the servants were  _also_  human and needed to eat to stay alive. Which is why it confused her when Sana and Momo stood frozen in the room even after serving the food.

Momo was pressing the metal tray into her stomach, desperately trying to keep it from growling. Fear seemed to suffocate her mercilessly, making it hard for her to breathe or swallow. Serving meals weren't supposed to be this stressful but Momo could never get her past experiences out of her mind each time she entered the dining room.

Chaeyoung could easily notice the discomfort of the two girls, especially Momo's. She put the tankard down and wetted her lips before staring straight at them. "Are you not eating?"

There was no reply. Both of the women continued to look down as Chaeyoung patiently waited for an answer.

One of the men snickered, and Chaeyoung immediately turned her head to meet his gaze. "They eat after us. The leftovers."

Chaeyoung shook her head slightly, and narrowed her eyes. "There's quite a lot for everyone. I don't see any reason for them not to eat in the kitchen while we eat here."

The man looked up from his plate slowly. Throwing the chicken piece he was holding on the table, he stood up, his jaw clenched. "It's  _always_  been this way." 

Chaeyoung was surprised by the sudden hostile action. Throwing another glance at the women who were now trembling in fear, she furrowed her brows before standing up. "Then, maybe it's time to change things."

When the man took a couple steps and stopped right in front of Chaeyoung, Momo felt like fainting. It was going to happen again. She felt a warm hand grasping her cold one, and it was then she knew, Sana was also scared.

Chaeyoung however wasn't fazed in the slightest by the tall, built man who hovered over her. 

"It seems you've forgotten that you're a guest here,  _milady_." He spat the words between his clenched teeth, "I suggest you do not meddle with our household affairs." The other guards stood behind the man, curious to where this was going.

Chaeyoung looked up, her brows rising slightly with each word she spoke. "It seems to me you have also forgotten that you are not the Lord of this house.  _I_  suggest you know your place." Chaeyoung could swear he was growling in anger while she spoke. "These ladies–"

The man threw his head back and laughed loudly, cutting Chaeyoung off. " _Ladies_? They're no ladies! They're whores!"

Sana and Momo flinched. Sana looked at Momo from the corner of her eye and could see the tears that were pooling in her friend's eyes.

Chaeyoung's eyes widened. Within a second, she threw a hard punch that landed on the guard's jaw, the anger that slowly built up inside her finally bursting out. The tall man took a few steps back and grunted at the pain shooting up his jaw. It took him a few seconds to blindly throw himself at Chaeyoung. "You bitch!"

He only humiliated himself when Chaeyoung simply caught his fist, twisted his arm and threw him off balance. The man whimpered in pain on the floor as the other guards took a step back in surprise.

"Do I need to remind you, you are also a servant!? You also serve the Lord of this house, same as them. What makes you so different that you act as if you're in a higher place?" Chaeyoung scoffed, her disgusted gaze still on the man on the floor whose shoulder was probably dislocated. "May God forgive you for your arrogance."

Walking away, she looked into the eyes of a guard who stood with a shocked face. "You. Call a physician." The guard took off immediately, leaving the room.

Sana held her hand against her mouth, not quite believing what had just transpired right in front of her. Momo wasn't any different, and they both found themselves holding their breaths when Chaeyoung walked towards their direction. Momo unconsciously took a few steps back.

A warm smile graced the short woman's features, and she spoke so gently, in a tone that was almost too comforting. "Shall we leave to the kitchen?"

They could do nothing but nod as a reply.

* * *

 

"How long are you planning on ignoring me?"

"I'm not ignoring you," Tzuyu said, not looking up from her compass. They had finally came down from the mountain, now looking for the next town so they could inform the guards of the princess's return and get a ride to the castle as soon as possible. And as Tzuyu was struggling to find the direction of the town, Nayeon had left to hunt for food, leaving the two of them alone.

Mina crossed her arms. "Tzuyu–"

Tzuyu crouched down and grabbed her old map from her backpack. "Mina, I'm kind of busy here. Why don't you go  _bond_  with your sister?"

"Talk to me...please," Mina didn't realize how addicted she was to Tzuyu's gentle words and teasing remarks until she went a whole two hours without them. There was just something....missing.

The princess's sincere plea made Tzuyu sigh. She stood up, finally actually looking at Mina as she spoke. "Look, I'm not mad. Really."

"It doesn't seem that way." Mina mumbled, this was one of the very rare times she felt small. Somehow, the thought of Tzuyu being mad at her worried her a lot. Mina hadn't felt this way since she had ~~purposefully~~  accidentally spilled wine all over the prince of a foreign kingdom while dancing. Needless to say the trade between their kingdoms was cancelled. It was actually ridiculous considering she was only twelve when it happened. What kind of king revokes an agreement because of–

"Fine. I  _am_  mad." Tzuyu crossed her arms, her low ponytail hugging her neck as she leaned towards Mina a little. "To be frank, while you're busy sucking up to your sister, I think you're forgetting who brought you this far."

Mina frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're being selfish, princess." Tzuyu turned her back to the shorter girl, once again looking at her compass, now with the map in her other hand. 

"She's my sister, Tzuyu–"

The half-elf suddenly turned to face Mina again, startling the princess. "For the love of– Stop saying that all the time! You sound so pathetic." 

Mina's lips formed a thin line and she looked down. She had never been insulted so directly before. Suddenly, words of her dear father rang in her ears, reminding her that a member of the royal family should always keep their chin up and stand strong and brave against others. She smacked her lips and met Tzuyu's gaze, her eyes fierce. "I'm glad to know your true thoughts about me. Anything else you'd like to tell?"

"I–" Tzuyu sighed, her hands falling down to her sides in defeat. If Mina didn't know better, she would think Tzuyu was trying to hide her tears by hanging her head low. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

Tzuyu was acting strange. She wasn't being herself and that caused Mina to think that maybe...maybe she could also be a little weird. 

She grabbed Tzuyu's hands, a little surprised to find them rough and not soft as she had guessed them to be. Her thumbs gently brushed Tzuyu's knuckles and reaching further up she took extra care caressing the little scar above them. Whatever had caused this old wound was sharp and the injury didn't look like it had been treated well. Mina didn't need to remember her mother's boring lectures to say so, for it was painfully obvious on Tzuyu's tanned skin.

"Tell me what's bothering you." She spoke softly, resisting the urge to bring up Tzuyu's warm hands to her lips and kiss her knuckles like in those romance novels she had read back at the castle. The thought reddened her cheeks and she almost let go due to the sudden shyness engulfing her, but a shuddering sigh made her look up.

"I ... I know I'm a commoner. And you're a royal– a-a princess. But I... just never thought about that..?" Tzuyu took her hands away from Mina's and rubbed her nape, a sad(?) expression resting on her face. "If...If I'm wrong to consider you as a friend, please tell me."

Mina tried to supress a smile, but the corner of her lips slightly turned up despite her effort. "Cries in the night, a pearl white wolf. Thinking it was struck down by the cruel group standing aloof." Mina's face fell slightly as she remembered the next lines. "For it did not see the wicked smile in the shadows behind the cowering, the wolf had done nothing but scare its last hope away."

"As much as I appreciate the beautiful poetry, princess, I don't think–"

"Tzuyu, you've become a very dear friend to me. Not only because you've helped me come this far, but because you're kind, brave, selfless and beautiful," Tzuyu's rosy cheeks made Mina feel warm and she couldn't help but want to lay her pure feelings bare in front of the half-elf. "In every meaning of the word." She added, her curious eyes observing Tzuyu's face closely for any new reaction the tall girl might show.

Tzuyu looked away, her eyes wide– not knowing what to say to Mina's uncharacteristic use of bold words. She shifted her weight from side to side, biting the inside of her cheek, the tips of her long ears reddened.

Mina giggled softly behind her hand. "Are you blushing?"

The princess felt a weak punch on her shoulder and it fueled her laughter. "What if I am?" Tzuyu furrowed her eyebrows in an attempt to hide her embarrassment– her cheeks red as her lips. She felt her features soften once she saw Mina's gummy smile.

Mina watched in awe as she witnessed Tzuyu's wide smile for the first time. Just when she was thinking how cute it was for Tzuyu's nose to get scrunched up while smiling so big, Tzuyu pulled her arm and she fell into the taller girl's warm embrace.

The two of them felt in peace, now with their ugly emotions gone. Listening to the sounds of the birds along with the pleasant distant sound of water that probably was coming from a nearby stream, Mina didn't want to let go anytime soon.

Tzuyu spoke near her ear, "Mina,"

"Yes?"

"You stink."

Mina pulled away, her mouth open in shock, offended.  _And_  a little embarrassed. "I do not!"

"When was the last time you bathed?"

Mina honestly couldn't remember. Back at that witch Dahyun's, maybe?

* * *

 

Chaeyoung nodded her head, bringing her gloved hands to rest on the table instead of her lap. "So you've been staying in this house for that long, enduring this kind of treatment."

Sana hang her low in shame, Momo grasping her friend's hand for support.

"Surely you are not the only maids in this huge house. Where are the others?"

"With their families, milady."

The short noble didn't need to ask to know why they weren't. A sense of sympathy hit her for she too, was an orphan. "Please lift your chins up."

The two friends did as they were told and found Chaeyoung smiling warmly. "As long as I'm here, please do not worry about the guards. I know how to handle men like them."

Momo couldn't help the tears in her eyes. Was this knight serious or was she just playing with their poor hearts that were desperate for affection? Was the outside world full of people like this? Sana had told her of kind people before like her parents, that one old man in the townsquare, that one admirer who left roses at her doorstep, and her little brave cousin,  _Tzuyu_.

"W-What do you want from us? We have no money. We cannot offer you anything–"

Chaeyoung merely waved her hand, quickly dismissing the idea of repayment. "Saving my life was more than enough. And I have to say, If I were you, I wouldn't think twice about quitting here. There are lots of other households that would take better care of you–"

"No," Sana shook her head, biting her lip. "We can't leave." She breathed out, her voice small and helpless as she once again looked down at her lap.

Chaeyoung frowned. "Why not?"

"Because... we  _can't_."

* * *

 

Mina let out a deep breath.

The river was glimmering in the orange lights of sunset. It was impressive how clear the water was, and it felt cool but soothing against her naked skin. Mina could without a doubt say this was more relaxing than any other hot baths prepared for her back at the castle. Many would disagree but–

"Are you done?" Tzuyu yelled behind the tree she was leaning against. 

Mina threw her a glare, wishing there was something other than rocks she could throw at Tzuyu. You know, something that would  _not_  kill her. "Not yet," she said calmly. Right after she answered, her eyes caught the sight of a very ugly fish and she immediately turned back, her eyes now set on the bank of the river, swimming as fast as she could. "YES, YES, I'M DONE!"

"Your clothes didn't dry yet–"

Mina practically jumped out of the river and slowly walked towards Tzuyu, the grass beneath her feet tickling her slightly. "Just give me the towel, please." She said, reaching her hand out, glad to be out of the water in one piece. She was not exaggerating okay, that ugly little fish might have had razor sharp teeth hidden somewhere.

Tzuyu kept her gaze still at the tree in front of her as she gave her the towel, knowing if she turned even a little bit, the now naked princess would smack her head and never speak to her again.

"Thank you," Mina wrapped the towel around her body. Thankfully it covered her private parts but everything else was out in the open so Mina couldn't help but ask: "Are...Are there no other clothes I can wear?"

"I don't have any spares but maybe Nayeon does?"

Keeping a firm grip on the towel around her body, Mina sighed. There was no way they could find Nayeon in the middle of nowhere–

"I don't either." Nayeon appeared out of thin air with two dead rabbits in her hands.

Mina let out a squeal in surprise before clutching Tzuyu's back. "By the gods! Don't do that!"

Nayeon pouted. "I bring you dinner and this is how you welcome me?"

Tzuyu sighed, "Don't worry, you get used to it in time."

"Hey!" Slapping Tzuyu's shoulder, Mina took a few steps back and once she heard the sorceress speak, she turned her full attention to her.

"I could dry your clothes faster though," Nayeon put the rabbits down on a rock and with a flick of her wrist, a fireball appeared in her hand.

"I'd really appreciate that, thank you."

With her back still turned towards the two, Tzuyu was getting nervous. Especially after hearing the sounds of magic. So when she heard their footsteps, Tzuyu couldn't help but turn around. Besides, Nayeon had yet to earn her trust.

She slowly walked towards them, watching as Nayeon directed the ball of heat in her hands towards the pieces of clothing that were hanging on the rope Tzuyu had tied up to a tree. Mina was standing beside her, her arms wrapped around herself protectively, maintaining her death grip on the towel.

Ripping her eyes away from the princess's exposed sexy white shoulders and legs, a mischevious smile appeared on the half-elf's face as an idea popped into her head. She crept up behind the two, her steps soft and quiet. She leaned into Nayeon's ear, "ARE THEY DRY YET?!"

Her merciless loud voice caused Nayeon to jump (also Mina), and in pure surprise, Nayeon let go of the fireball she was holding in her hands, turning to grab Tzuyu and with a single movement, threw her off balance. She blamed her reflexes as she watched Tzuyu fall in the river with a smirk...that didn't last very long because–

"My clothes!"

Mina's clothes were on fire. Like literally, actually burning right before their eyes. Once Nayeon got over her shock, she mumbled something under her breath and held her hands out, bringing the water from the river to put out the fire. Mina wanted to cry as she watched the now burnt-to-crisp clothes fall on the grass with a hiss. Besides the sounds of Tzuyu yelling at them 'HELP!' from the river, there was silence between the two sisters as they both stared at what used to be Mina's clothes.

Nayeon cleared her throat and leaned her head slightly towards Mina. "You know, black could really suit you–"

"No."

"Okay."

When Tzuyu got too loud, Mina got even more annoyed. This was all her fault. How immature could she get?! With an angry frown, she whipped her head towards the river. What surprised her was Tzuyu seemed to be struggling in the water and it did NOT look like she was messing around. Worry gripped Mina, chasing the anger out and squeezing her heart painfully tight. "She can't swim!" Mina stated as if it wasn't obvious, grabbing Nayeon's shoulder. She made a move to throw herself in the water to save the life of the half-elf, who saved hers more than she could count. However, Nayeon held her back, jumping in the water herself. 

The sorceress swam and grabbed Tzuyu with ease, pulling her by the arm. Nayeon pushed her up the riverbank before climbing up herself, pushing her black wet locks back. Tzuyu coughed violently, her body trying to get the water out of her lungs. Mina kneeled down, rubbing and patting her back.

"Are you okay?"

The question surprisingly came from a panting Nayeon, her black leather armor soaking wet.

Tzuyu managed to croak out a 'yes' between her coughs, her throat hurting with each cough. Just when she was starting to feel better, Mina slapped her back with strength Tzuyu wouldn't have expected from her. "Can you get any more childish?!"

Tzuyu just shot a big  _childish_  grin at the princess, "Heh," She then looked up at Nayeon who was squeezing the water out of her hair, standing near them. "Thank you,"

"Now we're even." Nayeon looked taken aback by Tzuyu's smile, probably wondering if it was really directed at her. "Oh and Mina, you uh, should," Nayeon hinted to her own chest and cleared her throat. 

Between all the chaos, Mina might have.. forgotten about her towel. Thankfully it hadn't completely fallen off of her, but it was down until her waist, giving a very generous view of her chest. She pulled the towel up quickly, trying to keep a straight face even with the blood rushing to her cheeks.

When Tzuyu giggled, Mina landed a hard punch against her shoulder and shut her up.

Nayeon sighed. "Guess we're camping here for the night."

***

Mina didn't know how she ended up with both Tzuyu's and Nayeon's blanket. Well, with her clothes burned down to ashes, she couldn't have expected much else but still, it made her uneasy to sit in the middle of the forest without anything but two blankets wrapped around her body.

The same could be said for the half-elf and the sorceress. They only had towels covering their naked bodies, patiently waiting for their clothes to dry up near the flames of the campfire.

With the rabbits Nayeon caught roasting above the fire, and wood smoke in the air, the three of them all sat around the campfire, trying not to freeze in the cold breeze of the night. 

Tzuyu just couldn't help but laugh.

"Something funny, elf?" Nayeon spat, slightly irritated. Why was Tzuyu so disturbingly happy today? She hadn't tried to insult Nayeon at all since morning and it concerned the sorceress a little. What was this devil planning?

Tzuyu kept laughing for a while before finally managing to answer. "This– This whole thing is hilarious!"

Mina kept a straight face. "Well, I'm glad at least one of us finds this funny."

Tzuyu pretended to wipe a happy tear near the corner of her eye and let out one last laugh before leaning further towards the fire in the middle for warmth. "Speaking of fun," She turned to Mina, who was shivering slightly because of the cold. A grin lit up her face. "Happy birthday, princess!"

Mina looked up from the fire startled, her eyes wide and confused. "Pardon?"

"Well, the curse thingy was supposed to kill you on your 22nd birthday, right?" Tzuyu spoke, her tone rising as she slowly came to a conclusion Mina hadn't thought of. "That means it's your birthday today!"

As weird as she put it, Tzuyu was right. While Mina didn't think much of it, birthdays of royals were considered as something huge– especially in the castle. They would have a huge ball dedicated to the said royal and presents of any kind would rile up in the doorway, whether it be from nobles or commoners. And don't get Mina wrong, she absolutely  _loved_ to dance in the ballrooms decorated elegantly to her taste but being the center of attention wasn't for her. She could distinctly remember her mother laughing in her face the one time she opened up about this insecurity of hers. She had never mentioned it since. Come to think of it, that might have been her mother's intention all along.

Tzuyu nudged Nayeon, her long dark brown hair cascading down her bare shoulders. She looked beautiful with firelight on her face. "Ahem,  _this_  is the part you bring the cake,"

"What cake?"

"The birthday cake!" Tzuyu got closer to Nayeon in excitement.

Nayeon sighed, annoyed. "I don't have a cake, elf. Get the hell away from me."

Tzuyu scoffed, crossing her arms and turning away from Nayeon. "If you can't even make a simple cake out of thin air, how do you call yourself a sorceress?"

"Same way you call yourself a mercenary when you can't even swim."

Mina watched the two of them bicker for a while with a smile playing on her lips. 

" _Anyway_ ," Tzuyu shot a quick glare at Nayeon before continuing. "Since we don't have a cake," Tzuyu grabbed her backpack and rummaged through it,  taking out something and tearing the wrappings off of it, she gave what appeared to be a round yellow cheese to Nayeon and turned to her bag once more, this time taking out a candle.

As she stuck the candle on top of the small round cheese, she looked at Nayeon and narrowed her eyes, "Don't burn the whole cheese," she warned.

Nayeon rolled her eyes and a small flame lit up on the tip of her index finger. She carefully brought it towards the candle and lit it up.

When Nayeon held out the cake towards Mina with an unsure smile and Tzuyu stared at her with a goofy grin on the side, Mina...

...laughed until tears blurred her vision.

"I'm sorry!" Mina apologized after seeing the perplexed faces of her companions. She held her aching stomach, still laughing. "It's just– we're in the middle of a forest with only towels and a single candle stuck on...on cheese–"

Embarrassed, Nayeon pushed the small round cheese into Tzuyu's hands and crossed her arms. Tzuyu wasn't even aware as she just stared at Mina, surprised at how much the princess was laughing. Although it took her a while to get over her shock, a sheepish grin appeared on her face before she handed over the small round cheese to Mina. "See, it IS funny!"

Mina grabbed the cheese from Tzuyu's hands with another laugh. When she caught her sister staring at her from the corner of her eye, her cheeks red from embarrassment, Mina's joyous laughter faded into a genuine smile. Her eyes next landed on Tzuyu's grinning face, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Finally looking down at the cheese in her hands, she blew the candle out, wishing for things she knew she couldn't have. 

"This is the best birthday ever," she said softly.

Nayeon tucked her hair behind her ear before checking the rabbits cooking above the fire. "If  _this_  is the best birthday you had, maybe I got it all wrong about the castle life."

After they ate and Nayeon insisted for Mina to wear Tzuyu's now dry clothes, they took turns to sleep through the night. Tzuyu felt herself shivering now and then but she decided that the sight of Mina curled up near the fire in her clothes, sleeping with a serene smile on her face was enough to warm her up inside. She still felt cold as heck on the outside though.


	7. Home

 

 

"Where in the gods is that damn village?"

Mina held back a tired groan as she watched the tall woman in front of her look at the map in Nayeon's hands for the nth time. 

"We should've took a left half an hour ago," Nayeon said, glaring at the woman in the towel. "If you had listened to me, we would have been there by now."

"I really doubt that." Tzuyu glared back just as intensely.

Mina sneezed suddenly, causing the two of them to turn their attention to her. A few seconds of silence passed before Nayeon furrowed her brows and turned to Tzuyu again, pointing at the princess as if she had made a discovery in the wilderness. "There, she's sick! _Great_ job, elfie."

"How the hell is that my fault?!"

Mina got in between them, pushing them both with one hand gently. Her cheeks colored bright red once she felt Tzuyu's smooth naked skin near her collarbones that the thin towel was unable to cover. She retracted her hand back and composed herself rather quickly, not wanting to be teased. "W-Would you two calm down? I'm fine." It was ridiculous how just a week ago Mina had been acting just like Nayeon was– continuously finding more than enough reasons to fight with Tzuyu.

Things changed so fast.

Nayeon pressed her lips together for a second before looking away from Tzuyu's eyes, an angry sigh escaping her lips, "Whatever, just give me the compass." She reached her hand out to the elf, gesturing for her to hand the tool over.

"I thought _you_ had the compass!" Tzuyu yelled, the towel slipping down slightly when she stretched her arms at her sides in shock. Thankfully, she caught it just as quick and pulled it up, her glare at Nayeon growing.

Nayeon let out a frustrated groan, pulling her straight black hair back. "Ugh, you're really–! I gave it to you like two minutes ago, icebrain–"

"And then you took it back, you poop. I don't have it."

"So you lost it." Nayeon folded her arms, shifting her weight to her right foot.

"No–" Tzuyu was the one who groaned this time -although it sounded more like a growl, "Are you even listening to me?! I said–"

A different voice cut in, "This isn't helping anyone!" If they hadn't seen Mina with her red cheeks and furrowed brows, her hands forming fists at her sides, they never would have guessed for the loud voice to belong to the gentle princess. "Can you stop acting like kids for one second and focus on the fact that we are lost? "

After getting over the initial shock, Tzuyu nodded meekly, adjusting the towel she tucked under her arms uncomfortably. The sooner they found the village, sooner she could get clothes and get out of this humiliating situation she was in. With this mindset, she decided she could tolerate Nayeon a little more–

Her long ears perked up and all of a sudden Tzuyu grabbed both of the women's arms and dragged them behind the thick trees.

Just as Mina was opening her mouth to ask what the hell she was doing, Tzuyu shushed her. "Quiet," she whispered. "Someone's coming. They're on horses." Her eyes met Nayeon's as she grabbed her bow and arrows from the princess. Nayeon gave her a slight nod before taking out her dagger, setting her gaze on the open area before her.

As if on cue some horses passed by, heavily armed soldiers riding them full speed. Nayeon tried to count them but failed– there were just too many.

"They're not our men." Mina whispered after catching a glimpse of the flag they were carrying.

Tzuyu shook her head and frowned in confusion, watching the clouds of dust the horses left behind as the soldiers rode far away. "No, they're not Cardenian, they're... Waygans. But what are they doing here?"

Mina stood up after Tzuyu did, deeming it was safe. "My father must have given them permission to cross our borders."

In the blink of an eye, Nayeon put her dagger back to where it was previously hidden– making Tzuyu slightly uneasy because of how smooth she was. "No sane king would allow _that_ many foreign soldiers in his lands." 

Mina knew that. Of course she did, she was the heiress. But she also knew how her father was during trades and agreements. If it wasn't for the benefit of the kingdom, under no circumstances would he allow what was being asked. This caused Mina to falter, the growing fear in her heart freezing her process of thought.

"Mina?"

When she finally snapped out of it, her eyes met Tzuyu's concerned ones.

"Are you okay?" The tall girl asked and Mina nodded without an ounce of hesitation, pushing back her dark thoughts into the depths of her brain.

After receiving a small smile from the princess, Tzuyu was convinced enough to make a joke, "I know you can't wait to go back to the comfort of your castle and do nothing all day," she shrugged with a mischevious glint in her eyes, "But let's just get there first, okay? You'll have plenty of time to stare off into the distance then."

Mina giggled behind her hand as they slowly walked behind of Nayeon, following her steps, "I _don't_ sit around all day. I'll have you know, I have many duties to attend to at the castle."

"Oh really? I bet you don't even leave your quarters at all."

Mina crossed her arms with a proud smile, "Ha! I _do_."

"The library doesn't count."

"It _is_  outside of my bed chambers."

Tzuyu chuckled, wincing when she stepped on something hard. Walking barefoot in the woods wasn't fun at all. She discreetly glanced at Mina as they walked– taking notice of how her clothes looked so big on her and the heavy bow she was awkwardly carrying looked ridiculous in her soft hands. Princess Mina looked like a toddler carrying a knife.

"So...how are you feeling?"

Mina sighed. "Tired."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find this... town, village, or _whatever_ the hell it is soon." They both stopped walking and the elf lifted her chin towards Nayeon who had her hands on the ground, the dirt beneath her fingers turning red, "Your genius sis finally remembered she has magic,"

A small smile graced Mina's lips then she shook her head, her eyes clouded by sadness. "I know we'll get to the castle eventually... It's just..." Another sigh.

"Just what?"

There was no reply. Tzuyu sensed something was wrong with the princess, but didn't want to push her into speaking. She reached out and gently held Mina's delicate hand in her own, Mina's palm pointing up towards the sky. Tzuyu merely smiled at the older woman's confused expression before drawing random shapes on the inside of Mina's palm with her fingertips, humming a tune so relaxing and angelic, Mina almost fainted. "Sana used to do this whenever I had nightmares and couldn't sleep. It always made me feel better..." She kept her gaze on Mina's hand as she continued, her eyes sad but her lips smiling, "I... can't really remember what she drew on my palm or the lyrics. It's been a long time." She sandwiched Mina's hand between her own and looked up, suddenly looking excited, "The melody sticks with me though. Sana has the sweetest voice you'll ever hear!" She sounded so proud it almost made Mina chuckle.

"Really now?" Mina couldn't help the tease that sneaked into her tone.

"Yes!" Tzuyu giggled like a little girl, "Although I might be a little biased–"

"I think your voice is the sweetest. Does that mean I'm biased too?" Mina had no idea where that came from, but she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed seeing Tzuyu getting all red and speechless. But after only two seconds of processing what she had just said, embarrassment crawled up Mina's neck and strangled her, turning her even redder than the girl before her. Just as Mina was praying for the gods to take her soul far _far_  away–

Nayeon gagged. "Someone pass me the sick bucket, I think I'm going to vomit."

With their little moment ruined, Tzuyu slowly turned her head towards the sorceress, her previously giddy voice now sounding cold and annoyed, unmatching her rosy cheeks. "Go eat dirt, you old hag."

* * *

 

" _Leaving without the sun~_ "

It was a fine morning. Sana didn't remember the last time she was this happy while hanging up the newly washed clothes. With the sun smiling brightly and warming her face, Sana hummed an old tune she was quite fond of and continued to sing in a soft voice.

" _There seems no choice but to run_ ," The birds seemed to accompany her sweet voice with their chirping and it made Sana smile ever so slightly before grabbing yet another shirt that belonged to one of the guards. " _But please hear me out, little one: I at least have your favorite caramel bun~_ " As Sana giggled at the lyrics, she heard someone else chuckle, making her jump.

"That took a funny turn," The voice sounded playful, "Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Sana relaxed once she realized who it was. She turned around and found Chaeyoung sitting on the grass, her arms resting on her knees as a hand supported her chin. Sana felt herself blushing– how long had she been sitting there?

"It's alright. I was merely surprised is all," she answered, quite proud that she didn't stutter. 

"Do you need help with anything?"

"Not since the other maids arrived," Sana shot her a smile, "And if I may say, I'd rather you get some rest, milady. You know you still haven't fully recovered."

Suddenly, the small knight groaned, her brows coming closer together in a frown, "Not you too!" She yelled, "Momo just shooed me out of the stables, saying the exact same thing!"

Sana laughed loudly for the first time in years, not scared of being heard by others. This week was one of the best Sana had in her life– with Chaeyoung around, she didn't have to worry about being harrassed or scolded, she did her share of chores in peace. The guards weren't happy about this– especially the captain(who Chaeyoung later learned was the same man she almost broke the arm of).

Chaeyoung, Momo and Sana had gotten closer since the day the young maidens told the royal knight the reason they couldn't leave. They were literally slaves sold to Lord Han, their lives didn't belong to them anymore– Chaeyoung disagreed but what the world thought was crystal clear.

"It's been a week. I have rested enough."

"Your injuries say otherwise."

Chaeyoung stayed silent this time, leaning back on the grass, watching the clear sky.

"It's so familiar."

Sana grabbed the now empty basket, "Hmm?"

"The song you were singing earlier. I think I've heard it somewhere before," Chaeyoung frowned as she tried to remember.

"You're probably mistaken, milady. It's a song I've made up long ago," Sana smiled as the memory of her little cousin bubbled up to surface.

~~

_Sana drew a circle in Tzuyu's palm, "Leaving without the sun~" her melodic voice was just above a whisper in the dead of the night. "There seems no choice but to run~" She made two of her fingers walk on the little girl's sweaty palm, continuing her song, "But please, hear me out little one:" Sana finally held Tzuyu's hand in both of her own, a small grin forming on her face, "I at least have your favorite caramel bun~" Her voice sounded a little funny at the end, making the younger chuckle through her tears._

_"You're so silly," Tzuyu murmured as Sana held her cheeks  and gingerly wiped the younger girl's tears with her thumbs._

_"Oh so you don't want the bun, huh?" Sana tickled Tzuyu in their small bed, almost falling off herself as Tzuyu giggled loudly, trying to push Sana's hands away._

_When Sana finally let her breathe, Tzuyu asked, her voice innocent and soft, "Do you really have one?"_

_Sana chuckled and planted a kiss on her forehead, pulling her little cousin closer, "I'll buy one tomorrow, promise." Sana only hoped she had enough gold to do as she said._

_"I can buy it myself too, you know." Tzuyu whispered._

_"I guess that's true." Sana closed her eyes. "My little Tzuyu is twelve now after all. She can leave for the marketplace all on her own." Sana knew that wasn't entirely true as the words left her mouth– the marketplace was a scary part of town; full of thieves and scammers, drunks even in broad daylight, and rude nobles that came quite a lot to buy the town's special products (at least thats what it seemed like at first but they were really more interested in humiliating the commoners more than buying anything). Sana could very well  remember that one time she was insulted for literally breathing the same air as them. And as if this wasn't enough, Tzuyu and Sana didn't exactly have the best reputation in town. They were known as the poor filthy orphans no matter how much Sana tried to change their image._

_"Stop talking like that, you're only four years older than me." Tzuyu spoke, her arms tightening around Sana, "But I'd still uh, prefer it if you went with me," Tzuyu crinkled up her nose when Sana's long blonde hair tickled her face._

_Sana smiled widely with her eyes still closed. The little precious girl in her arms sounded so brave all the time, it was hard to believe that nightmares haunted her almost every night. Sana was determined to make them go away. "It will be alright, Tzuyu." She whispered softly, "It will be alright."_

~~

"Sana? Are you okay?"

Sana blinked a few times and noticed Chaeyoung staring at her closely. "Y-Yes, I–"

A pale Momo suddenly ran towards them, panting, her eyes wide in horror. Surprised as she was, Sana wrapped Momo in a side hug immediately, waiting for her to catch her breath so she could speak. Chaeyoung just watched them, worry visible in her eyes.

"Lord Han...He's– He's dead."

* * *

 

"Finally! We're here." Tzuyu sighed, her eyes immediately searching for a place in the village she could buy clothes from, eager to get rid of her towel.

Nayeon had a displeased look on her face as she stared around. "Something's not right. This place looks..." She stopped for a few seconds and took in the silence of the village, "Well, abandoned."

"Please! Just because some people slept in, it... doesn't mean..." Tzuyu trailed off, frozen in front of the window of the shop she was trying to get inside.

"Tzuyu?" Mina took a few steps forward towards her, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Nayeon had an idea what the answer was when she examined the ground she was stepping on and saw a concerning amount of thick red blood dried up. "Oh no," She drew her dagger, suddenly taking notice of how some certain parts of the town looked like they had been burned at some point, how the rotting tomatoes and cabbages lied near the wrecked carriage they were supposed to be on... how the dead bodies of the villagers were hidden behind the houses, under the bushes and lastly.. how a foreign flag that was proudly standing on top the tallest house was waving in the wind. 

"We need to leave." The words left Nayeon's mouth quicker than ever before. "Now!" She turned around, panic present on her face as she checked her surroundings, keeping her fighting stance just in case. Her brows knitted together when she saw Tzuyu's unmoving form. "Tzuyu! I said NOW!" She shouted after releasing some form of magic that went underground and let her know some people were closing in.

Mina was afraid of the look Tzuyu had in her eyes.

She saw a violent storm in them. A war between two emotions, trying to overtake her: Sadness and anger. Mina saw this many times in her own father's eyes, and things never ended well when she did.

Tzuyu kept her hand on the door knob for a few seconds before finally pushing it open. Two dead bodies resting on pools of dried blood was what greeted them. Tzuyu could hear Mina's gasp as well as her own heartbeat increasing.

When Tzuyu entered the shop, she could faintly hear Nayeon shouting out curses at her, Mina's smooth voice trying to pull her back. Tzuyu couldn't hear what they were saying because of the ringing in her ears. She saw fire. The house was burning in flames and there was nothing she could do about it. She felt pain. The sharp pain stabbing the scar on her hand repeatedly. She heard screams. Screams of people she couldn't save. Screams of _her_...

"Tzuyu!" Suddenly Mina's blurred face appeared in front of her and the screams disappeared along with the fire. Once she was able to focus again, she could also feel the warmth of the princess's hands on her cheeks, looking at her with so much worry in her eyes. She blinked a few times before running forward and grabbing whatever she could from the nearest drawer, getting out of the shop with Mina right after. Tzuyu was slightly shaking and it did not go unnoticed by the concerned princess. 

Meanwhile, Nayeon could care less as she pushed Tzuyu, glaring at the back of the elf's head as they all ran into the woods, getting further and further away from the place they've spent a day searching.

Tzuyu leaned against a tree, her heavy breathing irritating Nayeon more than it should. "What the hell were you thinking?!" Nayeon tried to keep her voice as low as possible while shouting out her frustration, still cautious of her surroundings. "We could have died because of you!"

Tzuyu couldn't answer. She couldn't lift her eyes to meet Nayeon's furious gaze because she knew the sorceress was right. Her grip on the clothes tightened when she felt Mina's eyes on her as well. She breathed in as much air as she could to calm herself down and it worked– although very little. When the guilt and embarrassment became too much for her to handle, she walked away. Nayeon pushed her black locks back and shouted behind her, "I'm not done talking yet, you dimwit!" She let out a loud frustrated groan when Tzuyu paid no mind to her. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, the sorceress turned to Mina and just as she opened her mouth to complain, Mina spoke first:

"I'm, uh...going to check if she is okay..."

Nayeon grabbed the princess's shoulder. "Wait, Mina. I have to tell you something–"

Mina's eyes had so much sadness and worry in them, the sorceress was taken aback. "Can it wait?" Without waiting for an answer, Mina walked in the same direction Tzuyu went.

And with that Nayeon was left alone. 

***

"Tzuyu?"

The elf had her head between her hands, sitting on a rock under a tree, orange leaves falling down gently in the wind. The towel was abandoned on the grass for she was now dressed in ordinary clothes and looked like the daughter of a farmer. How quickly she had dressed was a mystery Mina was unable to solve.

Mina grabbed Tzuyu's shoulders from behind and started massage away the stress gently, careful not to hurt her forearm that had been injured few days prior.

Tzuyu let out a soft sigh and Mina asked just as quiet, "What happened back there?"

Mina could feel how the elf's shoulders had gotten stiff a the question. "It's nothing. Seeing it brought back some bad memories... that's all. It won't happen again. I'm sorry."

Tzuyu was so brave and Mina admired that about her more than anything. She had absolutely no idea what this beautiful girl had gone through since childhood, but it made her incredibly sad to hear these words come out of her mouth. She leaned forward and trapped Tzuyu in a hug, her arms circling the girl's neck. "Please, don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong." She rested her chin on top of Tzuyu's head and noticed Tzuyu subtly leaning back into her embrace. She smiled, her heart fluttering at the simple action of the other. They stayed like that for a while before Mina surprised herself by pulling away. "Let us know when you're ready to move."

Tzuyu looked over her shoulder to Mina and showed her a tired but grateful smile, nodding her head.

According to her source, just two days from now, Sana was going to be moved to a different house and Tzuyu still didn't have the gold she needed to save her. She wasn't going to make it in time and it ate her up inside. If she couldn't free Sana now and lost her, Tzuyu would have to track her down which would take her months or even a year and after that there was the hard chance of striking another deal with Sana's new owner.

Tzuyu didn't have the patience or the time for that. Neither did Sana and she knew that. A lot could happen in just a month, especially for a slave– and as much as she hated to think about it, if something happened to Sana before she could rescue her, Tzuyu would _never_ forgive herself.

***

"Mina," Nayeon called out when the girl came back from Tzuyu's side.

"Nayeon, if this is about Tzuyu, please don't."

"It's not." The sorceress folded her arms. "We have bigger problems than that."

Mina couldn't erase the image of dead bodies lying on the ground from her eyes– there was so much red... She shook her head as if to get the scene out of her mind.

"Before we left the village, I saw a flag," Nayeon approached her cautiously. "It... wasn't Cardenion's."

Mina felt nauseous, she knew what Nayeon was trying to say and it scared her to think about it. It was pretty obvious at this point– the princess was just far from ready to acknowledge it.

"It was Waygard's. Mina, I think Cardenion is being invaded."

But the truth never waited anyone.

* * *

 

Chaeyoung was confused.

"Forgive me for asking, but I can't seem to find a problem about this. Your so-called 'owner' is now gone, you should be considered free now, no?"

Sana shook her head. "It doesn't work that way, milady."

Momo buried her face in her hands. "Lord Han has no sons or daughters, which means–"

"–we have to wait for his wife to decide what they're going to do with us... _If_ she's alive." Sana finished for her.

"She is. She came back just fine. I saw her with the maids." Momo said.

Chaeyoung scoffed. "This is ridiculous."

"Might be so. But it's not like we can change it." Sana could feel the whole happiness draining out of her. She hated how unpredictable life was. Especially for her.

Momo tightly grabbed Chaeyoung's hands and bowed until she lost her balance and fell on her knees, shocking the royal knight _and_ Sana. "Please," the broken maiden's helpless small voice caused something to rip inside Chaeyoung. "Please, my lady. Help us– I beg of you."

Chaeyoung felt her eyes water. She was taught to be hard and cold her entire life but no lesson could change the softness of her heart. "H-How can I–– I don't have enough money to buy even one of you..."

"Please..." Momo was crying now(although they couldn't see her face, they heard her sobs), desperately hanging onto Chaeyoung's hands. "You're the...the queen's knight, right? Y-You can take us to her–"

"Momo!" Sana yelled, not happy about her friend spilling what they knew about Chaeyoung.

"How did you–" Chaeyoung looked down and for a moment she seemed angry. "Momo," she called the crying girl's name. "Momo, how do you know this? Tell me!" She felt fear creep in– Chaeyoung knew these parts of the kingdom weren't the most loyal, if not careful enough she could get killed just for this. "I asked you a question!"

Sana didn't like where this was going. Chaeyoung's voice started softer but got more stern with each sentence and it scared her. She threw herself down to Momo's side and grabbed the trembling girl in a hug before bowing her head to Chaeyoung. Her voice wavered as she spoke to explain, "We just happened to see your mark of the Royal Knights when we were tending your injuries milady, forgive us. We didn't mean to be disrespectful!"

"Has anyone else seen it?"

"Only the physician, a k-kind old man who lives in town near here." 

Chaeyoung breathed a sigh of relief at the answer, and her gaze softened once she realized how scary she must have looked for Sana to speak so formally. "Please stand up, I...I apologize for being so aggressive."

Sana pulled Momo up, and the said girl immediately buried her face in the younger's chest.

"Forget what Momo said, please. She's just upset. We've been moved around houses several times already, and it's never a nice process." Sana sounded like she was on the verge of crying. Chaeyoung didn't like that and felt awful.

"Sana, believe me I understand. I'm not mad..." Chaeyoung ran her hand through her black hair. "I'm just– I wasn't expecting you to know that."

Sana kept her gaze on the ground, slightly finding comfort from how soft Chaeyoung was speaking.

"Either way. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help you." It hurt her pride greatly to say these words. "The queen and I are not exactly on speaking terms– I'm... not in her circle of knights anymore."

Momo finally looked up, her hair that was the lightest shade of brown still hiding most of her tear-streaked face. "I'm sorry...I-I didn't know..."

Chaeyoung went forward and grabbed the older girl's hands in her own. "Momo, it's okay. I'm so sorry I yelled at you."

There were so many apologies in the air, it was hard to count them. All of three girls had their own reasons, a sad story behind them all. Some painful, some even more painful than the other. And they all wished for the same thing: to move on and start a new life.

* * *

 

Tzuyu whistled loudly as she looked the huge castle up and down as they walked towards the huge doors. "Damn, was it always this big?"

Nayeon pushed Tzuyu's chin up, closing her mouth. "Your jaw is gonna fall off."

Grabbing the sorceress' hand, Tzuyu gave her a teasing smile, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Is that worry I hear in your voice,"

Nayeon swatted her hand away and glared up at the tall girl, "You wish. I just don't want your drool all over the place."

"If you say so. Then again, you could have left me behind back in the village but you didn't leave without me... just sayin'." What can she say? Tzuyu was good at reading people. Maybe Nayeon wasn't so bad after all.

"Fuck you."

Keyword _maybe_. 

"Nayeon!" Mina gasped.

After they suspected the invasion, Tzuyu, Mina and Nayeon gave it their all to reach the castle as soon as possible. The townfolk seemed a little shaken up but at least they were alive. Mina only wished the Waygan army didn't reach this far into the big capital city. Some people from the middle-class recognized Mina as the princess and gave her bows and greetings, while mere commoners didn't even know their crowned princess was walking by. It was certainly not their fault. Low-class people never were invited anywhere. No balls, no feasts. Mina swore to change that after she had the crown. 

"Princess Mina...?" The guards in front of the huge metal doors to the castle literally jumped in their place when they saw Mina from a distance. "It's the princess! Inform the king immediately! The princess of Cardenion is back, alive and well!"

Mina breathed a long, shivering sigh. "I'm home." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiatus until June cuz I have big exam coming up :(((


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